Small things matter too

From Jim Paredes' blog:

We moderns like to pride ourselves on the idea that we use our time productively, implying that productivity must be a financially measurable activity. Thus, there is so much impatience with the world and life as it happens. People want instant results, and instant gratification. When an activity does not produce dramatic or desired results, it’s seen as a waste of time.

The gap between deciding to do something and getting to the final, expected results can be a period of great impatience and boredom. Through a modern’s eyes, practically nothing is happening during that time. The metaphor of “watching paint dry” is how many people describe moments in between which they feel are boring and slow because “nothing eventful happens.”

But the truth is, so much is happening all the time. We just have to open our eyes to see it all. The deliberate appreciation of the microscopic effort — the turning of the screw, so to speak — is what I am talking about. So much is going on in this little world, if one cares to look. The little story is the big news.

So true. Realizing that life is in the present moment (and not in a grand, big something in the future) and in the small, everyday things is comforting and takes away a lot of pressure.