Beauty In the Little Things

Today was a wonderful morning. Without trying, I happened to notice many little things. Perhaps the challenge for us is in recognizing that we notice them.

As I left my house on the way to work, I noticed a nip in the air, so I put my windows down a bit. Not too much so as to mess up my hair, but just enough that I caught the breeze through all four windows. I enjoyed the ride so much that I didn’t even turn on the radio. Traffic outside my subdivision was a bit backed up so I flipped it on to check the commute report, but had just missed it. So I turned it back off. It’s 7 am in September and 71°.  As I neared the turn street to get to my office, I was stopped at the red light to wait on the green arrow. As most of us do, I looked around at the other travelers who were waiting with me. I noticed the woman to my right who was checking her phone and out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement in her back seat. Upon a closer look I realized there was a toddler in her car seat beebopping about and wiggling around. Our eyes met and she smiled at me behind her binky. As soon as I smiled back she put her little hand up in the air and waved at me. With pleasant surprise, I waved back. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a toddler in my home now that my kids are grown. I forgot how innocent and adventurous they can be. She waved and smiled, I waved and smiled back. We went back and forth about five times before the light turned green. I left that stop light beaming with happiness and I immediately thought, “How wonderful it is to notice the little things”.

Shoes make the outfit they say in the fashion industry. Shoes are little.  Children are the future they say in the world. Children are little. The conjunction “and” is a little world but is so inclusive that it has the capacity to bring together people, nations and universes.  But, that’s getting a bit big for this blog. I just wanted to challenge you to look around when you drive home today.  Look at little things and ponder about what they are connected to. What big things can come from the little things in our life?

Another thought…without the little things there would probably be no big things. I believe hope and happiness are found in the little things. Here’s to you little girl in the backseat, thank you for waving at me today. Thank you for your little smile that made such a big impact on my day.