Hang In There - Small Things Matter

Photo by Jamez Picard on Unsplash

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

"I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love."— Peter Jackson

Today my post is about another kind of love - love of justice, dignity and our longing for a better, kinder world. Every day I feel like I’m facing a tsunami of disturbing, dangerous and distressing news. The world seems to be facing another wall of water, before we get through the aftershocks and assess the damage of the last one. When so many things I love are at risk, it becomes hard to even know where to start. And that is pretty much the point, to keep us all so overwhelmed, distracted, and off balance we become immobilized. It is a common strategy to pull our attention in so many directions our energy is depleted or diluted. I was speaking the other day with a friend who has worked all her very long life for positive change. I’m paraphrasing here, but this was essentially her take on these challenging times and her advice:

1. Take a breath. Ground yourself in the daily practices and community that sustains you for the long haul. This is not a luxury. This is essential.

2. Take the time to reflect upon your life, your gifts and your resources. The closer we get to what we love and who we are most deeply and truly, the more potent our contributions become.

3. Choose a couple of issues to which you feel particularly called. There is simply too much happening for any one person to address it all. It’s ok to narrow your focus so that you don’t get overwhelmed.

4. Remember, take comfort and have faith. You don’t have to do it all. You only have to do what you can personally do today. Nothing more. Remember there are others working on the issues you cannot personally dive into at this moment. We are many, and we are great with love.

It was wise and grounded advice from an elder who has seen forward movement, hard times and major setbacks. Years ago, another mentor (who saw my overactive sense of responsibility for basically everything) gave me a prayer to say at the end of the day. Over the years I’ve often said this prayer and I’ve found myself saying it more often in the past months.

“What has been done has been done. What has not been done has not been done. Amen, let it be.”

When I take the time and reflect or journal about the four ideas above, it helps me to clarify, and clarity is a major resource for all of us. I remember reading an artist describe how she thought about the work she brought into the world. She described how all of art was a beautiful huge lake of water. Flowing into that lake were large and powerful rivers —Beethoven, The Beatles, Dylan, Kingsolver, O’Keefe, DaVinci, Dickens, Shakespeare, Mary Oliver, Monet and more. But there were also a hundred million streams and creeks and small tributaries that led to that great and beautiful reservoir. The artist’s belief was that whether she was a river or creek or small artesian well bubbling up from the earth was never the point….the point was that that lake got filled. I’ve lived my entire artistic life grounded in that idea, that it is honorable and true to simply fill the lake with as much beauty as I can in my one wild and precious life.

Have you ever seen a bucket so absolutely full to the brim that a very small bit of water causes the bucket to overflow? Some folks might say that it was that last drop that overflowed the contents, but the truth is — it took every single drop to bring the water to the rim. It took every single drop for it to reach the point when all that good spirit spilled over. Each drop mattered. Each drop was filled with a spirit of love and hope that lifted the water level. You…you my friend, and the daily drop you put into the bucket are deeply important, because you are the water that shifts the world, you are the river, creek or stream that fills the lake.

A story - because we need stories of how small things created large change - even when we cannot see the results of our actions today.

Our local Unitarian Congregation has a committee called The Green Sanctuary. Several years ago, the committee started a campaign to explore how the community might become more sustainable, and how we might live more closely aligned with the community’s values, and address climate disruption in a positive way. Climate change is a huge issue, and it is easy to feel overwhelmed or powerless to create change. It was clear that asking everyone in the community to become vegan, like tomorrow, was not going to work. And so The Green Sanctuary decided to not jump into one big solution, but rather break it down into small steps that individuals, families and the community could build upon. I remember the first week they asked if people could change out one regular light bulb for one energy efficient light bulb. They could get the energy saving light bulb at any grocery or hardware store. People with children or grandchildren were encouraged to talk about why they were exchanging the bulbs, and maybe have them participate in the process. And the people of the community changed a single light bulb. The next week when asked, people said that they felt good about what they’d done and many of the kids were excited. Community weekly tasks continued - recycling plastic bottles, using reusable coffee and juice cups in the fellowship hall. Some people began eating one meal a week that was totally locally sourced. Others decided when it was time to replace an old washer or dryer to opt for the more energy efficient one. The people began to feel a sense of confidence, agency, empowerment and pride in doing daily things to help protect and preserve our beautiful shared planet. Eventually, the community applied and received a sizable grant to put solar panels on the church. The community continues to encourage one another and takes great comfort and agency in knowing that they found a way forward that allowed them to contribute in real ways by taking small, creative steps forward. It didn’t happen all at once. It happened one daily action at a time— supported, encouraged and built upon by the community.

There are so many stories I could tell like this one. Each one inspiring in deep and encouraging ways. I mean, I’m a folk singer and have a neon bumper sticker on my forehead that alternately flashes, “I love a good story” and “soft touch for a good cause.” But jokes aside, we all have these stories…and what I believe is that there is power in telling these stories, and it is powerful knowing that we, with our daily acts of love, are creating the stories that will be told by the next generation.

So breathe everyone. Hold dear the things you love. Know that you are not alone. We are many and we are great with love.

Thank you soooo much for the nods and smiles, likes and comments!

I really appreciated last week how folks let me know they were enjoying the post and community comments by clicking the like button and sharing. It really is like getting a smile and a nod…or even a fun high five! A deep bow of appreciation.

AND More Gratitude And of course, many thanks to everyone who follows, or is a free or supporting subscriber. It is you that makes this endeavor possible…no hyperbole there..it is you, and I send you all a deep bow of gratitude and appreciation.

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Practice

Choose some small act to do this week, something doable and human size. We’ll do this together and I’ll check back in next week to hopefully hear your stories of how doing some small acts for positive change felt.

Question

What do you think about this idea of filling the lake? How do you feel about the idea that every drop in the bucket lifts the water level? Do you have a story of how a series of small actions made a positive change?

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Music always Music

This song is called The Plumb Line from The Point of Arrival. In carpentry there is a thing called a “plumb bob” or “plumb line”. It’s used to help build things in a manner that will be more stable and true- how to keep more solidly aligned with the ground.

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Comments I loved this week - Thanks folks

I believe I was a tree in another life. I feel trees deep in my bones. Thank you for the prompt to embrace trees. It is the top of my list of “things I love”, just above getting my hands dirty in the earth. Love things I love! - Nancy Culp

“Mister rogers, one of my biggest heroes, used to muse, "did you know that when you wonder, you're learning?" may we all keep wondering and learning. more importantly, may such learning lead to navigating our own personal and collective thickets in a loving, kind manner worthy of this wondrous world.” - Skott Jones

“HEART <3 LOVE” S. Holly Stockings

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