Little Things

I'm a big fan of little things. Little gestures. Little kindnesses. Little gifts of the heart. Big gestures certainly have their time and place and needfulness, but it's the little offerings that speak to me at full volume. That widen my smile. That supply more oxygen on the in-breath and keep love flowing.

The other night, amid a simple gathering of 6 friends and myself, I was filled to the brim with little gestures and gifts. David, a master bread maker who uses only organic ingredients, served his artisan Kalamata olive loaf. Warm. I swooned at the first bite. It was the singular best bread I had ever eaten. Smeared with soft cheeses, it almost liquefied me off my chair. While I was swooning and chewing, David was in his kitchen making homemade gourmet pizzas. Naturally, anyone whose art is bread making has a pizza oven in their garage. The caramelized onion and goat cheese wedge I devoured defied proper adulation. All I could come up with between bites was, "oh, my God". Then Sue, the Confection Contessa, served up her from-scratch chocolate cupcakes and it was all over for me. They were heaven in a pastel paper wrapper.

Other recent kindnesses include a Buddha head that showed up between my doors one snowy day and has since become the favorite in my collection. A pack of Wizard of Oz bookmarks in my mailbox. A link to a Yvonne Elliman video on YouTube. A response to a comment I left on a blog.
All little things. All sent with love. All potent.

There is an energy of love that permeates this planet. It is available to all at all times. The quickest way to access this energy, to feel it and to pass it on is through little gestures. Little impulses and little offerings to others that originate in the human heart. It will be the little things, given in love, that will save us all. No matter how little we may have at any given moment, there is still a little thing we can offer. A hug, a compliment, a note, a phone call, a slice of warm bread. Little things add up. Little things count. Little things can make the difference between hope and despair. Between a quality life and a life all but lost.

Let's keep love flowing. Let's give and receive little kindnesses. Often. Daily. Willingly.