little

“The little things?  The little moments?  They aren’t little.”                            -Jon Kabat-Zinn

It is amazing how something small and simple as a smile has the power to change and make your day better.  That smile with some kind spoken words is even more powerful.

While attending college my sophomore year in Billings, MT, I had been having a really bad day.  My alarm didn’t go off and I woke up late.  I didn’t do as well as I thought on test that I studied really hard for.  It just seemed like everything I did wasn’t working.  While walking to work at McIntosh Art Company when it was on Grand Avenue, I passed two little girls playing.  One of the little girls came running up next to me on the sidewalk and said, “You are really pretty.  I love your red hair.” And she gave me the biggest beautiful smile.  She made my day.  I smiled back and thanked her.  From that moment on, my day went so much better.

You have probably heard the saying “It’s the little things.”  Just like pennies in a bank account, the little things add up.

I am working on an Artist’s Journal project.  One of the things that I am working on is observing little moments of beauty and document them in my journal.  The bright red of blooming poppy.  A spider web caught in dew and early morning sunlight.  Hints of changing colours creeping into the autumn landscape.  Little things.  Small things.  Things that would easily be missed.

I recently watched again the movie “The Crow.”  There is a scene where Eric Draven’s spirit is talking to the police officer about his dead fiancé and how the little things always mattered to her.  He continues saying that he sometimes thought they were trivial.  Nothing is trivial, he goes on to say.

Here is what I want to leave you with.  Little things are important.  Especially when it comes to how we treat one another.  Notice things.  Notice the little things.  Take time to experience and appreciate them.  The little things… they aren’t little.

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