Thoughts

"When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." --George Washington Carver

As I sit down to write this, the house is strewn about with baby toys, clean laundry and dirty dishes. These call out for my prompt attention--after all, the baby is in bed!! However, I want to make good on the promise to myself to be regular in my writings.

Two strands of thought have been running through my head the last couple of days--does that happen to you? Like the beginning to some great "understanding" of an illusive concept, and then life happens and the strand just remains there...hovering until it dissapears forever.

One strand is of the insignificant things that aren't really insignificant at all... the small things that can add up to be big things.... the time-consuming little details of life that can seem to stifle living! I find myself constantly struggling against those things: Change that diaper, clean this mirror, sweep that room. I don't want them to be the sum of my life, but they are nessesary parts. May I learn to keep the little things in their place--so that I don't miss the big parts of life: Snuggle times with my hubby, giggles with my boy, talks over coffee, hot baths. Joy in the things that matter, let the rest just be background.

The other strand has been compassion. I think that true compassion is often (mostly?) the compassion that no one else sees or notices. Compassion is not hard when there are friends around, cameras flashing or the idea of a reward motivating the act. True compassion, though, is hard. And, often it is hardest to demonstrate to the people closest to us. Isn't that crazy? I mean, I can find myself sobbing over some obscure reality show, and then feel absolutely no compassion towards my husband when he complains of not feeling well. I think another word for compassion could be empathy. Why is it harder to feel empathy for your sister than it is for a poor child on the street? I don't have the answers, but it's got me thinking.

Little things. Common people. Big picture. I want to be a person that sees the big picture clearly enough that I don't let the common people in my life to become little things while I divulge far to much time in the things that... in light of a life... mean nothing.