THE LITTLE THINGS (By Robert Chapman)

How important is it in our everyday lives for the little things to happen and happen correctly? Sometimes, if these little things go awry or don’t even happen, then the whole day can seem like it lies in ruins. If we take a look at the history of the world, if the little things would not have happened or if the little things would have happened, we would have learned completely different ideas in our history classes:

-If the Titanic would have left six hours earlier, there might have been enough light for the watchman to see a giant iceberg, and we wouldn’t have had to suffer through three hours of Leonardo DiCaprio drowning.
-If Robert E. Lee wouldn’t have dropped those two cigars with his battle plans in them, the Civil War might have had a different outcome, or might have just delayed the inevitable.
-If Isaac Newton would have accidentally put a minus sign instead of a plus sign in one of his equations, gravity might not be what it is today (because apparently, Newton invented gravity).
-If Abraham Lincoln would have decided not to go to the theatre one night, maybe Reconstruction would have been better which might mean that Civil Rights today might be more advance than they are.
-If K-Fed and Britney Spears wouldn’t have gotten married, our society would have fallen apart because what would entertain our cravings for celebrities turned trashy?!

I love that Gatorade commercial where they show the great plays from the past that did happen, but with the magic of computer animation, they show how those legendary clips would look if they were just another missed opportunity: What if Michael Jordan wouldn’t have made that shot, or if Joe Montana wouldn’t have connected on that touchdown pass? It’s the intricate details of big events that make them larger than life.

But what about our everyday lives? I thought about this idea this morning while I was in the shower. I was in such a grouchy mood a couple days ago because the way my day should start off was not what I needed. I woke up to my dog whining loudly, no cream or sugar for my coffee, my milk had gone bad plus I was out of cereal, I was out of my Irish Spring body wash in the shower, and I had used my last Q-tips the morning before.

Little things like that take what could be a good or even great day and confront you with the choice to dwell over trivial hurdles or to ignore them and get on with our day. The unfortunate thing about the second choice is that we are creatures of habit. We like our morning routine to go according to schedule. If the schedule differentiates from our wantings, then the whole day is shot; it feels like an uphill battle.

Take a look at the little things that go on around your everyday life. Try to imagine your day without them, and on a bad day try to remember, at least your not on the Titanic, with Leo, drowning.