Little Things Mean A Lot

The title of this post is also the title of an old song whose first line is “Don’t throw bouquets at me…” I don’t recall the rest of the lyrics, but the story told by them are that fancy displays of gifts don’t hold nearly the value as the little ones. As a romantic, I’ve always said that I’d rather have a hand-picked bunch of wildflowers than a dozen of the finest roses. My philosophy behind that is that anyone can take a few minutes to call a florist and order a flower delivery with a typed card, but a hand-picked bunch of wildflowers delivered by the giver shows effort and time. In today’s world, our time is one of the most precious commodities we can give to another, after all.

In my last post, I talked about an emotional meltdown I had just gone through. In the days afterwards, I got a sense of what people with bi-polar disease go through. I was on a roller coaster of up moods and down moods and couldn’t seem to get my feet back to solid on the ground. Well, it was more like I was either super-up or numb, to be honest. A few days later, someone I know from an online place I hang out – whom we call “Monergy” or “Monster” – started showering me with online roses. He had no reason to do so – he wasn’t aware of what I’d been going through – but he did it just to show me he loved me. And yes, I started crying again!

Those tears, though, were entirely happy tears! Amid all of the self-doubt I’d been feeling, here was this person who had no incentive to show me love showed it to me openly and ten-fold! It was a “little thing” but it was the “biggest thing”! My heart swelled with that outpouring of simple love!

I share that with my readers to remind you that you, too, can make a difference in someone’s mood by doing little things! For your family, your friends, even strangers….. a small gesture that shows your heart may – and probably will – make an impact! I’ve said before that I’m an ARK rider – acts of random kindness – and the smile I get from the simple things, such as taking a grocery cart from someone who has just emptied by their vehicle and returning it on your way in always gets me a smile!

And for your loved ones, especially, shower them with little things! A sticky note for them to see, a text message that says something like “I’m thinking of you”, an extra hug to a child with a word of encouragement on test/exam day – an a million more – does so much!

I encourage each of you to think of a list of ways for you to encourage your family and friends and everyone else you come in contact with – and then DO IT! Get aboard the ARK with me!