The Gift of Small

There is something about drawbridges that fascinates me: the various designs to raise and lower sections of a bridge; the duality of allowing land-based and water-based transportation to share the right-of-way; and the simple methods of road barriers and lights to stop traffic and to signal when it is safe to proceed.

I assumed drawbridges allowed larger ships to pass up or down a river or waterway.  Recently, when a drawbridge went up on the intracoastal highway, I scanned up and down the waterway for a large ship... and was surprised to see a small vessel with a tall mast stopping all the traffic!

The focus wasn't on how big the vessel was but on its need to move beyond the barrier.

When do you open up?
(Photo: Drawbridge on Intracoastal Waterway
- Larry Gardepie)

Stepping back, I began to reflect on times in my life when small actions achieved great results:  a smile; offering a seat on the bus to another person; saying hello to a stranger (an "unknown new-friend") as I passed by.

And there were many times when people reached out with a caring hand:

• After graduate school I had a sizable credit card balance and school debt.  A friend offered money -- a no interest loan -- to help me get established.
• A family member listened when I needed support.
• A work colleague showed me how to be a better supervisor.
  

In each case, a seemingly small action opened a Right-of-Way of shared peace and understanding.  It was safe to proceed.

How do you clean up dead growth?
(Photo - Fish Pedicure - Larry Gardepie)

In some ways our world seems backwards to me: we expect big results, large bonuses, and huge successes.  Our financial markets demand record profits to be labeled "Successful."  People with money seek more money.  We have moved away from Seeing Needs to Filling Wants.

Maybe it's the Gift of Small that is more important for us these days:

• Being kind to another person.
• Looking for the positive in others.
• Seeking reconciliation and forgiveness.

It's the beauty of walking humbly that transforms us into grace-filled people who can fly above the desires to be great.

Are you ready to be transformed?
(Photo: Monarch Caterpillar - Larry Gardepie)

In the words of St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love. 

For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Let us pray for the Gift of Small this week -- beginning with a smile and kindness to others.  Amen.

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)