Here & Now

The Little Things

Today, I stumbled upon the book “The Little Things.”

 

This book was among my favorites just a few years ago.  I remember first reading it when I returned from studying abroad -- one of my greatest lessons learned while living in

London

was that life is about the little things.  It is about experiencing things firsthand, it is about less obligations and more spontaneity, it is about the simple moments where you know life is incredible.  I saw this book and bought it immediately.

 

However, after graduation, I found myself completely disconnected from this book.  So much so that I remember the feeling of being connected to it rather than why I was connected to it (those “it is about” statements took some time to draw out!).  The little things were not such good things anymore.  Washing dishes and doing laundry and paying bills replaced quality time with friends and taking care of myself.  I was hearing “let go of all of those little things” and “don’t live by a list.” 

 

In December, I received another copy of “The Little Things” as a gift.  I came across it today in a totally random way.  I found it on my way to the gym and thought about “the little things” and my conflicted views about the concept while preparing to workout.  On the treadmill itself, I opened it to see if the book revealed why there seem to be two types of little things: the little things everyone says to appreciate and recognize and the little things everyone says to let go of in order to focus on the “big” things in life.

 

Tonight, at some mile marker between 0 and 1, though, I reconnected with this book in way I had been unable to do so for years.  Not because it explained the difference, though, between the little and big things in life, or because it helped me better grapple with balancing all of the little things, good and bad.   I connected with it because my conclusion today was that life is not about the big or the little things.  It is about all of the things that make a difference -- that drive us, create us, influence us and become us.  Big or little, there are things that make our lives more vibrant, connected and inspired.  They are genuine things that shape our lives.  As the book suggests, our lives are shifted by things such as:

 

An exciting vision.

Trying something new.

Following your dreams.

Staying optimistic.

Being a loyal friend.

Taking the scenic route.

Unleashing your creativity. 

 

In the end, regardless of size, the valuable things – the right things to focus on – are that which make life itself big.

 

Recently, my life has been shaped by a lot of meetings, a lot of communications, and a lot of discussions.  A lot of little things.  But there is a big message within all of those little things, I realized tonight.  My job and the culture I work in are largely based on consensus and this drives quite a bit of extra work and millions of little things to worry about for me in my current role.  But I considered tonight that there is also something big and significant behind all of those little things. Conference calls and emails and discussing something 5 times over means I am part of a company where people work together.  “The Little Things” shifted my thought process when it said: The ocean is made of drops. {Mother Theresa}.  Working together --- this is what the book listed as a little valuable thing!  I have been so focused on the difficulties associated with Assurant’s way of working that I have not stopped recently to think of what this culture creates – a place where you meet people, a place where your opinion counts and a place where there is a common goal. In my everyday work life right now, I am working together with my team to create massive change throughout in our organization, to prepare Assurant for the future.  We are putting many drops together to create this ocean.  Day-to-day, perhaps this is frustrating.  Stepping back, though, this is a pretty amazing thing.  This is a big thing and a little thing --- a thing in life – that makes it more rewarding and more valuable if I just stop to consider it.

 

This book made me think of other moments in my life beyond work as well – it brought back moments of

London

, conjured memories of college, made me consider moving and all associated with it.  By the end of my second time through it tonight, I didn’t care what it had said; all I cared was that, tonight, I put a little bit of life into perspective.   “The Little Things” has now found a place on my bookshelf, where it will be visible everyday, no matter how big or little of a day it is. 

Inspiration

Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I am tempted to think there are no little things. {Bruce Barton}

 

The future is not someplace we are going to, but a place we are creating.  The paths to it are not found, they are made. {Jane Garvey}

 

Unless you walk out into the unknown, the odds of making a profound difference in your life are pretty low. {Tom Peters}

 

May you always find new roads to travel; new horizons to explore; new dreams to call your own. {Unknown}

 

Possibilities do not add up. They multiply. {Paul Romier}

 

The ocean is made of drops. {Mother Theresa}

To Twitter or Not to Twitter?

I love technology.  I have tried countless forms of it for years - adapting some advancements so much they are a lifeline (my Mac) and yet feeling lukewarm about others (creating my own websites - yuck).  I remember first starting this blog and thinking it would be a test of a new technology, one I wasn't sure would stick - little did I know, it would become my voice, a technology that enabled my love of writing.  However, unlike blogging, Facebook has been something that I have tried and not really used as many people do - while I joined in the beginning, I have often viewed it as time consuming for its value (although it is always a nice way to see what people from your past are up to).  

All that being said, I am intrigued by a recent boom in the popularity of Twitter ---- but this is one technology I am not so quickly jumping to try.  On one hand, it could be a brilliant opportunity to capture life.  To document snippets of everyday existence.  To share stories and to write, which I love to do.  On the other, it could be a time sucker, one that does not result in a better life in any way, shape or form.  And, in reality, do I need another way to capture life (what aren't I capturing in 2 blogs, a photo every day to add to my other thousands, and multiple scrapbooks)?  I don't have a Twitter account, but as I see it referenced lately, I find myself clicking on the links to read a little and see what it is about.  I am beginning to understand it a bit more lately (modern marketing tool, addictive hobby, easier than other forms of documenting) and I like its cool factor, but I am still on the fence about whether it really belongs in my perhaps overly-captured life (because I have a lot of vehicles to capture the details). I am thinking, for now, that I need to stick to my "old fashioned" technology basics and perhaps use any potential Twitter time to use these: taking a photo a day, blogging about life here & now and finding Mac apps that make life simpler (or at least seem simpler).

Being Grateful

I have been battling with myself lately - caught in this odd spot where my life right now seems like a blessing at some points and a curse at others.  For example, I am blessed to have the opportunity to live in Atlanta, to explore something other than what I have always known and to grow from that.  However, on the flip side, there are some days where living here seems like one of the more foolish choices I have ever made - moving away from John, my family and my friends is a lonely and work-consumed existence at some points. What if I died tomorrow, a voice in my head says... would this be where you want to be?  I am also lucky (and often love) to have a job that jet sets me around this country.  But the travel is becoming exhausting -- I see my own bed just a few days out of the month and I can build no balance around such a skewed schedule.  I love my job but when it is a job that requires 70+ hours of my time per week, it isn't the same love any longer. Overall, the joys of my life - the things that really do make it good - are bittersweet lately, and I swing wildly in my emotions about how I feel about where I'm at, some days loving it and other days despising it.  

I am trying to use my 365 project (a photo a day to document the year) to find a balance between my conflicted feelings - and to swing my perspective to the positive.  I frequently thumb through my photos of the year and am amazed at all that can happen during the course of a few months.  It is here I truly see my blessings and cannot deny them.  I am grateful for them when I remind myself of what I have.  I also look at them, though, and can also see what I need more of - balance with work, more time where I slow down, exercise, connections with friends.  

I wrote a few months ago about refocusing my life, to begin living my best life, which I did not feel I was doing. At the end of April now, I feel like I have fallen off of the wagon again - living largely heads down, consumed by what's happening to me (rather than seeing I have a choice in all matters).  I need to reengage with the "live my best life" concept - again.  After all, as StoryPeople puts it, "life is more fair than we can ever imagine if we are there to live it." I need to use my 365 photos to adjust and change - practicing more what makes me feel good and practicing less of what brings me down.

This rest of this weekend, I am going to try to let go of feeling down about the not-so-best-life I've been living and try instead to focus on the positive things that are happening right now -- such as 78 degrees, birds chirping, dinner with friends, no overwhelming pressure to work, a chair and table on my patio, all suitcases put away, grocery shopping for fresh food.  Every single day, I have a choice to live my best life and to view what my life involves as positives rather than negatives.  Maybe my choices have been skewed lately, but - lucky for me - there is another day ahead to make a better choice and to practice appreciating my life for what it is right now.

Being a Pisces on 4/18 means..

...that your Yahoo! horoscope reads this:

Today, you might find yourself thinking about doing things that you never would have dreamed of a couple years ago! 

Today, John and I (both Pisces) did a few things we never ever considered even 8 short months ago: grilled on our Weber chargoal grill on our patio.  Sipped pinot noir over guacamole.  Did a home improvement project in the storage unit. All in Atlanta.  Crazy how a night that feels similar to those you've had in the past - wine, Michael Buble, John-made dinner (I cannot take credit, unfortunately) - can be completely different than what it once was.  

Happy Easter

I am spending Easter in Minnesota this year, thanks to a business trip.  John and I made it a weekend dedicated to downtime.  The highlight of our weekend so far was a trip to Interstate State Park in Taylors Falls.  Today, we are taking things easy.  It feels good.  Hope you, too, are having a happy Easter.