The Little Things
It’s the little things that make us who we are. We strive to learn and know and unravel our experiences but the small things define us. These are the things that make us lovable and make us love others.
The small ways in which we are unique and special so preciously outweigh our intelligence, our education, our life experience, our knowledge and success.
Close your eyes for a minute and think about why you love the people you love. Do you love them for their success, their wealth, their education or intelligence? Or do you love them for the way they cock their head to the side when considering a question, the way they laugh, the way they cook, the way they hug?
I have been thinking about my “little things”. What is it about me that sits squarely in the memories of others? Is it the way I insist on drinking my coffee out of a little white china cup with a red rose painted on the side, the way I watch “A Walk in the Clouds” over and over again – even though it’s the schmaltziest film ever made. The way I use the word schmaltziest when it isn’t even a word?
Or is it the way I know the words to the grape crushing song (of that same film) in Spanish – even though I have no idea what they’re singing? The way I can just as easily watch The Matrix over and over again and then try to replicate those snappy Kun Fu leaps. The way these two very different sides co-exist within me?
I love black leather as much as I love the red rose on my coffee cup. Perhaps it is the way I wait until a really tense moment during a scary movie and then run my fingers down somebody’s neck. I'm sure it's none of these things but other things instead. You never can tell what reaches in and touches somebody's soul.
When I think about those I have loved and lost I remember …not their material successes but their favorite song, their tinkling laughter, their beloved poetry, their exclamations and smiley faces in an e-mail, their jokes and what made them sad. Sometimes the little things are silly, they can even be irritating but they are really the heart and soul of us.
The little things are really big things. I love you all for your little things.
Capegirl
Hi Capegirl.I love this posting of yours. It’s full of deep thoughts and words from your heart.You are right about little things, and it’s the little things that make me the happiest.Seeing a child smile, kissing a puppy. seeing a plant grow. All sings of life.Be well and thank you for your list of little things,LoveEve
Hi Cape!!I’m real happy to see you back around. :PAnyways, we all have our little things. And, I gotta be honest, the little things in my life are the reason why I get so confused while thinking about my future.The most important things for me are here in Brazil. Some of them lay up there in Chicago, USA (or somewhere else in the globe).Here in Brazil I can see my brothers growing up and shaping up as good persons, I can be part of their growth. I can see my father thinking (sitting alone at the porch – pretending to be reading a book – I know he’s just trying to reason stuff out), my mother washing the dishes and trying to teach math to my sister that is sitting at the kitchen table.When I’m living by myself, I can see other kinds of little things. People passing by, a smile at Starbucks while I order ” I want a Big latte with soy milk, and no whip cream-please “. The time I can take for myself, to write on my journal (the paperback one – which I don’t write on since I came back to Brazil – 1 year), the elderly being respected while crossing the street (it does not happen here), no trash being thrown on the sidewalk, I can see myself getting more mature just by living abroad.Anyway, I love having these tiny moments. They all make us grow and learn.And now, you have just provided us all a ‘big moment’. Yes, you made us think about what really matters to us all.Thanks much for writing.Keep it up, please.Blessings to you,Dan
Hello Capegirl,yes, your words are so true! I know that and i live my life since some years with this topic. But sometimes it’s good, to remember for that!Thank you very much for your words!LoveElke
Hello CapegirlYou are very romantic. I am going to read your other posts to get a better idea of your point of view. I wouldn’t want to try to be serious until I have a better grasp of your personality.Let’s just say I am ready at this point to disagree with you. heh heh hehCJ
Hello CG!I absolutely LOVE ‘A Walk in the Clouds.’ I am one of those silly girls who watches it over and over. And that KISS! That is one of the best Hollywood kisses ever filmed. That is probably one of my favorite Keanu Movies. To be honest, I haven’t seen a bad one. :lol:But, as for the sentiment in this post, it is fantastic! I tend to do the same thing… When I think about people I have loved and lost, I remember the crooked smile, the deep brown color of the eyes, the explosive laughter, the stories, the poems, the music. I don’t remember the hurt or the sorrow. I don’t remember the BIG BAD things about them.I remember everyone with fondness… all the little things.Love to you,K4
very lovely post. So true that we forget about the simple things. I remember the first time I fell for someone – it all had to do with the smile and the way the lips look crooked. :onice to see you blogging again.
One of my sisters and her daughter pronounce one specific word on exactly the same melody that my mother used. I have never heard anybody else do that. A little thing.I don’t know which little things single me out in the eyes of those people who are fond of me. I have been told about some of them, but I am sure there are quite a few more.
Yes, it really is the simple things that define us and shape our relationships. Usually, my relationships have ended because of the cumulative effect of something small. In that same vane, my girlfriend enchants me by all the little things that she does: an extra peck on the cheek, an honest smile, knowing when to scratch my back without me asking, etc.As you can read from my blog, I’m VERY big on small ideas. Just one simple insight can change the entire world. That’s how we got many of our modern conveniences. Simple insights led to computers, telephones, televisions, etc. They’ve also led us to start conserving our planet’s resources and being more nurturing to the next generation. The list goes on.Thanks for your simple insights, Capegirl.
Hi everyone!You are all beautiful and i loved hearing about your little things. Everybody had a different take on this but they were still all things that set us apart and make us truly unique and special. I am glad that through this post you took a moment to think about these wonderful miniature giants.Capegirl
Ha! I am really happy to see that you are back 🙂 I checked your journal every week just in case there was a new post from you – but I only knew that you were back when I saw your comment in my post today. Thank you for bringing light into what would have been just another dreary, dismal day :)I don’t normally comment from work but I just feel like I had to give my two cents worth (actually it’s worth a little more than that – maybe three cents!)I think that loving someone is an accumulation of lots of little things – and it’s difficult to say that what you love in one person you will love in another. But I think that there are very basic qualities about people that we might love, such as good nature and humour, things which make it very easy to get along with them.You are sounding like you are doing much better, by the way.Love Me.
Hi Capegirl. I like this post. It makes me think about how happy I get when I hear the voices of good friends & family that are spread out across the country, so I rarely get to see them anymore. It brings me back to the times that we were hanging out laughiing, having fun together. Those are some good memories that bring a smile to my face.It also makes me think about the good friends that I have here & how grateful I am that they are in my life now. I know I may not have much, but what I do have, I do give thanks for. I give thanks for the family & friends that are there when my spirits are down, to cheer me back up. With their kinds words and deeds, I really do feel blessed. That’s what your post makes me think about.