Wednesday, July 11, 2007 When little things mean a lot By Henrylito D. Tacio Regarding Henry
TWO nights ago, when I was about to sleep, I heard my cellular phone ringing. So, I reached for my phone and read the message. It said: "Never grow tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes, those little things are the big things which are treasured and kept in their hearts."
Little things, I asked. I got up from my bed. I paused for a moment. Yes, I pondered, we usually don't pay attention to those little things that come into our lives: a beautiful sunset, a fresh air, a child's smile, a delicious meal, a restful night's sleep, an encouraging word, a refreshing bath -- too many to mention here.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge reminds, "The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions -- the little soon forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimal of pleasurable and genial feeling." Adds Jose Ortega Y Gasset: "For the person for whom small things do not exist, the great is not great."
Oftentimes, those big things in life -- jobs, relationships, birth, sickness and death -- get our undivided attention most of the time. That's not surprising at all. The things that affect us on a deep level, whether life-threatening or life-changing, are what we consider as "the most important." Unknowingly, it's how we handle the little things in life that really help us deal with the big things.
Bruce Barton was right when he said, "Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things -- a chance word, a tap on the shoulder, or a penny dropped on a newsstand. "I am tempted to think, there are no little things." Fanny Fern (the pseudonym of Sara Payson Willis Parton) agrees, "There are no little things. Little things are the hinges of the universe."
"What we call little things are merely the causes of great things," Henry Frederick Amiel also observes, "they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure which, generally speaking, decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of a gangrene, of a storm, or a revolution."
Yes, little things matter. Read the story of Retired American Brigadier General Robinson Risner, who was a prisoner of war for more than seven years. For five of those years, he was in solitary confinement. He suffered from cold, heat, malnutrition, and lack of fresh air. He was totally deprived of any human comfort. To break the monotony, he jogged in his cell by the hour. When he became frustrated he had to scream (but he had to stuff his underwear into his mouth to muffle the scream). His reason for doing such: He would not give his captors the satisfaction of knowing his frustration.
One day, in depths of despair, General Risner lay down on the floor and looked all around his small rectangular-shaped cell. He put his eye next to the cinder blocks, hoping there would be a crack in one of them. Fortunately, there was a minute opening and he saw a single leaf. Later, when he was released, he told the press that seeing "that evidence of life outside" was a "tremendously uplifting and life-changing event."
His story reminded me of the words reportedly written on a wall in a concentration camp. "I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I feel it not. I believe in God even when He is silent," it said.
More often than not, we neglect those trivial matters. Too often we wait too late to say, "I am sorry. I was wrong." Far too many times, we let unimportant things into our minds. And then it's usually too late too see what made us blind. "Be sure that you appreciate everything you've got," Dawn Stanislawski suggested. "And be thankful for the little things in life that mean a lot."
Don't judge a book by its cover, so goes a popular saying. But that is how we do with people. We don't give much attention to those little people -- "the poor, the neglected, the beggars, the uneducated, the underprivileged.
Little things add up. Try to live life aware of your moments. Be involved in the little things and watch your life change. Remember, ants do their work little by little. Dale Carnegie assures: "Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one, it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves."
