Small Things

More than once, I've been with a friend looking up into the star-speckled night sky and heard them say "Look how small we are." The reaction and the reasoning that leads up to it vary depending on whether the friend leans scientific or spiritual. One could even tell you precisely how small you are compared to all the familiar heavenly bodies and venture a guess on the vastness of space beyond. Regardless of the tone of the awe, most seem struck by the contrast. Compared to the whole of creation, we are tiny, tiny, insignificant things. A humbling thought, without a doubt.

Now, take that initial thought and step into the next. What lessons does the great big universe have to teach? What, other than humility, can we gain by contemplating the vastness?

The universe may seem like something huge, but really, it is a collection of billions and billions of individual things. I'm not just referring to us humans, but every living thing and every non-living thing, too. Every creature, each blade of grass, every stone or grain of sand, every drop of water, every mote of space dust, all these things are clustered together, bound by the forces that make our universe work. This whole huge thing is composed of small things, so many that my earlier word, "billions", seems rather small. And the world would not be quite the same place without any one of those small things - you included. We may be small, but we are important parts of something enormous.

You might wonder what it means to be a small part of this great collection. What good is it to be a drop of water in an ocean? Does that one small thing make a difference? Think about your life. Trivial things affect you every day. A tiny pebble in your shoe can steal your attention away from everything else. The little button on your coat helps to keep you warm in the wind. The smell of coffee in the morning can put you in a good mood all day. Similarly, every one of us, though we may be small, has the power to do big things.

Just a small gesture, a kind word, a simple smile, has the power to change the world for those we encounter. Suddenly, the vast neutral universe has turned toward them with warmth, and we have the satisfaction of knowing that it was our little piece of the universe beaming positivity into the rest of it. We can make a change. We can be a spark. When our actions brighten the lives of others, they are inclined to brighten still more lives. We can never truly control how the universe treats us, but as part of the universe, we can control how it treats others. That's tremendous power for something so small.

Yes, look how small we are. Isn't it great?

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