... And It's All Small Stuff

"Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things -- a chance word, a tap on the shoulder, or a penny dropped on a newsstand -- I am tempted to think . . . there are no little things." -- Bruce Barton

I've switched my gym routine and for the past two weeks, I drag myself out of bed at 5:30 a.m., when it's still dark out, and go to the gym. I've always loved that time of day -- early in the morning when it's still and quiet -- when the only ones awake are the birds and the sun.

And maybe it's because it's so still and quiet, I've started to take notice of more of the "little things" that everyone is always talking about.

Little things like:

• How, at 6 a.m., the sun shines directly onto the facade of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Charles St. and you almost feel like God is going to walk out its front doors.
• Yesterday, after a long day at work and while sitting in miserable Baltimore City traffic, Hanson's "MmmBop" came on the radio, and all I could do was laugh hysterically.
• The small sign as you're leaving the Fitness & Aquatic Center that tells you to "Have a happy, healthy day."
• Jay, the deli guy at Whole Foods who wears a ski cap with his name tag pinned to it and, without fail, will get into a long conversation with you about the relative ripeness of the tomatoes in the pasta salad.
• Or the guy at the fish market who bids every customer goodbye by telling them to "Stay Happy."
• The birds chirping outside my window in the morning, back from their winter vacations.
• News that an old friend from college in New Mexico was asking about you.
• Cool people like the custodial staff at the gym, who wish me good morning everyday.
• Phone calls that bring you one step closer to some of your closest friends.
• The contrast of the bright sun and the bitter cold.

A couple of years ago there was a rush of that series of books, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff." Basically it was telling us not to let little things affect us too much. Little things like mismatched socks or forgetting our lunch or the grocery store being out of your favorite breakfast cereal. And I guess in that respect, it may be good advice to not sweat the small stuff.

But Coach LaRusso always tells us that the little things add up, and that it's all small stuff. I tend to agree with her. Not everyday has a big defining moment -- the birth of a baby, the death of a loved one, the achievement of a goal. Individually the little things might not carry much weight. But every day has little moments that can make life spectacular. And maybe that spectacular moment is the realization that the little things are what make life interesting. That the people you maybe don't always notice can make you smile and brighten your day. That stupid things like a song from a boy band from 1996 can make your day go from bad to better.

It's easy to ignore the little things -- to not take notice when you've got a thousand things to do and a million things on your mind. But, as the Jesuits would say, it's important to take time for ourselves to reflect on the world around us. It's taken me getting up at 5:30 a.m. every morning, when the rest of the world is largely quiet, to appreciate the small stuff. But it's a start.

I don't know if you would call this giving something up for Lent, but my Lenten promise was to not worry so much about myself and not to be so concerned with how I look, what I weigh, etc. After 15 months of worrying about that stuff constantly, I realized that it was kind of taking away from my focus on other things -- friends, faith, life. So I'm still conscious of my diet, my exercise program, etc., but I'm trying to not let that be all I'm conscious of. There's much more to life.

So today, take a second and appreciate the friendly girl who makes your coffee, or the guy in the office who empties your trash. Acknowledge the irony of a funny song on the radio or the way the light illuminates a certain building.

And remember ... it's all small stuff.