Such Small Stuff

A seed germinates into a sequoia. A dash of salt makes the casserole. A smile mends a broken heart. In a hundred years, most of us will long have been forgotten, covered by the dust we call history. No monuments will bear our names; no wars will record our deeds; no religions will canonize our souls. Yet every day of our lives we do so much with so little, making us much bigger beings than we might ever think. Success is regulalry measured by so many in dollar signs or through celebrated feats. The man who made his millions in oil has finally arrived. The lady whose romance novel made the bestseller list is lionized. Indeed, big money, literary fame, and other such acclaim leave the rest of us salivating for greener pastures. Sad how we have become that way.

Think, though, of that time your boyfriend shattered your heart and how all Mom had to do was put her arm around you and say, "This will soon pass, honey."
And it did. Recall the time your coach told you you did not make the cut, but Dad assured you you would make other even more important teams later. And you did. No books bear those words, and the rest of the world will never know anything about those moments that will stay in your spirit the rest of your life. How only a few well-timed words are able to heal a heart! How just a calm reassurance can restore a reputation! They wield more worth than all the gold of Fort Knox or the stature of the New York Times Bestseller List.

Perhaps in the burgeoning populations of our modern world or in the depersonalizing machinery of technology, we have lost our sense of individuality and how much the most mundane gestures like a smile, a handshake, or a wink can give encouragement along the way to a wavering soul or comfort to a faithful old friend. The real heroes of our world are not found in a list in Fortune 500 or a cover on Cosmopolitan. They are sitting next to you, walking toward you, and most importantlly, standing behind you. Better yet, they will always be there, whenever you need them and even when you don't.

Big, great, magnificent, and stupendous are often what people make. Small, modest, hidden, and sincere are what always make people.