Scent Notes: It starts out as a lovely crisp green caramel apple with a touch of spice, then makes a handbrake turn to heavy spiced incense with elemi and a tiiiiiny bit of apple. The law of unintended consequences means that any action made in a rather sudden fashion can (and usually does) coincide with some unintended, unanticipated, unforeseen consequences. While most online discourse of the subject focuses on negative impacts and consequences of the actions taken by people or corporations or governments, we want to focus on the positive unintended consequences. Think of the opposite of Murphy’s Law: whatever can go well, will go well. Whatever makes your day brighter and better will make other people’s days brighter and better. Your choice to pay for the coffee of the car behind you in the drive-thru line could mean the person behind you got to also have lunch today, or they took the money they would’ve spent on their coffee and tipped the barista generously, who can now put that money towards the new pair of work shoes she desperately needs. You heard that your neighbor was laid off, so you made a caramel apple pie and brought it to her, which allowed her to eat for the first time that day since she'd been too depressed to go to the grocery store, even as she tried to maintain a "normal" facade. This gave her the energy to apply for several jobs, and a few weeks later, she was employed again. You remaining calm in the midst of a sh*tstorm at work meant that your coworkers were able to keep level heads as well, and the storm passed faster than normal, making everyone’s work days better and easier. Your intention had only been to keep your own blood pressure from rising, but it helped keep everyone sane. You send your best friend some perfume samples because you know life's been rough for her lately, and the smoky incense scents she loves arrived just in time to perk her up at the end of a long week. That confidence allowed her to ace her work presentation and go on a very successful second date. Turns out, her date is also a fan of incense. There’s no limit to how much small acts of kindness can ripple through our days, making things better for the people around us, even if we don’t know them or never see them again. Maybe the person driving like a maniac on the highway is desperate to get home to their kid before bedtime because they’ve been working overtime for weeks, and you letting them merge in ahead of you during rush hour traffic let them make it home before bedtime. When you start thinking this way, and wondering about the positive unintended consequences of your daily actions, it can really shift your perspective and your attitude. So maybe we should keep focusing on the positives, the consequences that make our lives, and the lives of those around us, better. Scent Notes: It starts out as a lovely crisp green caramel apple with a touch of spice, then makes a handbrake turn to heavy spiced incense with elemi and a tiiiiiny bit of apple.
