There is a push to focus on the big things in life. Clichés and metaphors remind us that the heart of life is found in the 80/20 rule and related themes. One could believe that the small stuff does not matter. In blunt terms, nobody need worry about what happens in the quietness when no one is looking, because it does not impact the big stuff.
For a very long time, I accepted this approach. I could see the evidence. I had read the case studies. Factually I had embraced a recommended approach while missing the larger story. Life is revealed and lived in the details. Life is not found in generalities, biases, and the imagination.
Growth begins with an awareness of what I need to change. The big events often mask the true story, especially when I am at my best. Paraphrasing one author’s words which triggered a pivot in my life, “it is in the quiet moments when nobody is watching that one reveals the true measure of one’s soul.” If one wants to understand the true self, do not go looking in the big stuff of life, look in the quiet, dark, corners when one believes no one is watching or cares. It is here that one finds the truth of one’s soul.
Explore the “why” in what you find. Seeking to know what is behind our action, as uncomfortable and confusing as the process might be, reflecting what many call the dark night of the soul. It is wrestling with the truth, struggling to accept the self, and coming to terms with what it means which gives one a foundation for being something better than what one already is.
Be intentional and committed in every action. Nothing is too small. There are no moments which are not important. Follow Divinity’s example as “S/he counts the stars and assigns each a name.” (Psalm 147.4)
As I look back, I realize what I used to think of as small, is big. Moments I treated as insignificant, were moments where I wrote my story.
