Small Things

Hayis Mayıs 29, 2022

My blog subjects are largely about what crosses my path. It's easier that way. And easy is one of my values. Not, EASY, capital letters, as in you don't have to work like a dog throughout most of your life. But easy as in the small things. I thought of Richard Carlson (I had to look up his name) who is famous for his saying, "Don't sweat the Small Stuff. . . and it's all Small Stuff." But that also works in reverse. We should celebrate the small things. And it's all small things.

I found a ton of fun stuff last week, and this little yellow apron was one of them. I got it for a dollar after finding it in a rumpled ball at the bottom of an unattractive pile.

There is no earthly reason why a little ruffly eyelet trimmed pocket should bring so much joy, but I celebrate the woman who made it, and the brilliant person who first discovered that you could so easily bring a ray of sunshine into a life of drudgery with a scrap of cheery fabric and a little darling trim.

The flowers are from my new neighbor whose moving truck pulled up at midnight across the street just a couple of days ago. They weren't expected, and we came seriously close to calling police for suspicious behavior.

She didn't wait for us to do our duty and introduce ourselves, but came by yesterday with a little bouquet tied with ribbon. She had two of her five little girls in tow, and revealed volumes about herself with one small gesture.

Richard Carlson posed this challenge: "Ask yourself: Is there any way I can become even more loving than I am? Can I fill my heart with more loving kindness? Can you, despite the fact that there are less than perfect people in our world, think loving thoughts about yourself and about others?"

A fellow journalist wrote of him: "His tenets are less anodyne than they might seem, concentrating as they do on not equating material possessions with happiness, being kind to others, attempting to see others' viewpoints and managing conflict serenely. . . . He did not deny the existence of "big stuff". . . . However, he claimed, reasonably enough, that we have no right to expect everything else in life to run smoothly.

"We have come to believe, especially in industrialised Western nations where we are very privileged, that our lives should be perfect," he said. "We feel like we shouldn't have to deal with traffic jams or flat tyres or people who are rude to us." (Hester Lacey)

I think about the climate of these times. My own intensity at a difference of opinion. All as a reminder to myself, since I'm known more for keeping my silence than for giving a soft answer.