A manifesto of the itty-bitty…

Sometimes I think about the state of the world and find myself at the doorstep of “expletive deleted.” OMG, my desire to tune out is tremendous. No, no, I don’t want to hear, read, or view the painful chaos. (You, too?) Where to go with this? No place to hide and, gee, I couldn’t live with myself if I did.

A heartfelt “Sigh.”

Wow, that deep “Sigh” made a little more room in my chest for breathing, always a good thing. (It is, isn’t it?) With a greater sense of spaciousness, I can begin to see a bit of light. And here it is….

A Manifesto Of The Itty-Bitty!

Yep, you read that correctly. Itty-bitty. What the heck is it? Ta dah! It’s living in a world in which our capacity to influence large-scale change appears to be limited, but…..

Eeeek! Wait. I thought this manifesto thing you were heralding was going to give us a greater felt sense of power!

Hold your horses, my darlin’, we are getting there. But, first we need to talk about pebbles. (Oh, geez!) Have you ever tossed a pebble into a pond? (Of course, you have; it’s a human thing.) What happens when you go pebble-tossing? Ripples. That’s what happens. Those little ripples, products of an itty-bitty pebble, mind you, can appear to flow off into infinity. Kind of magical to watch the small ripples move beyond your capacity to even continue seeing them. Ripple power generated by itty-bitty-ness. Ripples with an impact we may never know…wondrous.

Sort of wondrous like the reply I received from a neighbor a couple of days ago, after doing an infinitestimal favor for her. “Little things like this just make my day!” No need to go into the nature of the favor, but I was startled by her response which seemed so out of proportion to the reality of the favor. Made her day? But I only…. Stop. A last minute small gesture on my part made-her-day. Creating joy with the impact of an itty-bitty metaphorical pebble tossed out as an afterthought. Hmmm…I guess afterthoughts have more power than I realized. Go, afterthoughts!

Another seemingly small pebble-tossing scenario. One of my neighbors lugs my LARGE-wheeled garbage can up my driveway every few weeks in support of my finicky back. (I call her my garbage genie.) In the scheme of things, certainly itty-bitty, but her act continually builds my trust in the flow of simple human kindness, across the board.

One more pebble for the road. We have two HOA-supported parks in our neighborhood which include doggy waste bags and trashcans in which the doggy bags’ contents can be dumped. And trust me, there’s lots of dumping since no one wants that aroma in their own trashcan! HOWEVER, every week, the large trashcans must be wheeled to the parks’ curbs for pick up. One devoted neighbor (and her dog) perform this task and I suspect most folks don’t even know her identity! But it’s a gift to our animal-loving neighborhood and supports many, many fewer complaints regarding “I stepped in you-know-what while on my morning walk!” Oh my, that particular pebble has created seismic ripples!

So, yes, when I’m feeling over-powered by the chaotic state of life, I try to stop and remember:

• All the (heartfelt) pebbles I know (and don’t know, but trust) are being tossed into the world’s pond;

• AND all the pebbles in my mind’s eye just waiting for the opportunity to manifest their ripples in life’s pond.

AND I feel so much more buoyant.

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