All the Small Things

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."
- Winnie the Pooh

It's been a project of mine, since the New Year started, to really focus on the little things; to look for, to seek, to anticipate those small moments that swell my heart with joy, peace, contentment, or love. (Other emotional states are welcomed, as well.) This cultivates greater anticipation for each day.

These small moments bring a smile to my face and help me appreciate life anew. They remind me that the big moments or the grand gestures are garnish, mere excitement that is meaningless without the small moments that makes life profound.

 "Life...is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness, and small obligations given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort."
- Sir Humphry Davy

It's riding home after dark on my bike, pedaling from the school in quiet companionship with a staff member. We exchange short phrases: "Dtou nah?" (Where are you going?) "Luan! Luan!" (Fast! Fast!) or simple desires "Knhom jang ni yay angkle jiamuay Teacher." (I want to speak English with you.)  "Knhom jang ni yay Khmer buntai plek piak teang a." (I want to speak Khmer but I forget all words.) It's full of smiles, laughter, and delight.

It's leaving the house and spending a couple minutes convincing the puppies that no, they can't go to work with me. It's learning to quickly shut the gate and, just as quickly, turning away from the accusing eyes. It's returning home to a sweet puppy face, wagging tail, and cuddles.

It's another bike ride home, but this time we hear "Hello teacher! Hello teacher!" as some students catch up to us. These girls proceed to drive their motos behind us, graciously lighting our path (illuminating the cavernous potholes) with their headlights. We continue, accompanied by their light and light-hearted laughter, until a chorus of "Goodbye! Goodbye!" arises, and we all part ways at the Durian roundabout.

It's in greetings. It's the smiles of the children who greet me when I arrive at the school. It's the quiet "Sus'dei" I receive from a woman at work. It's the women who recognize me at the store and say hello. It's the aunt, who brings me fruit, and wants to know how I am.

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
- Leo Buscaglia

It's a teacher, who when my flashlight wouldn't work one night last week, drove alongside me while we chatted about life decisions until I reached home, ensuring a safely lit journey. This same teacher saw me fussing with the flashlight again this week, concerned. But noticing my companion waiting for me, she smiled delightedly, asking, "Pi neak?" (Two of you, together?)

It's seeing beautiful flowers on the way to work. It's seeing those same beautiful flowers on the way home, u-turning in the road, and stopping to admire them, because they were irresistible. It's taking a picture, for photographic evidence.

Gorgeous, right?

It's a moment, when my host-mother and host-sister are busy outside and a customer walks up to the store. I go to the window, "Dting tuk tom!" ([He wants] to buy a big water!) I didn't know the word for the giant 20L bottles of water. My host-mother told me the price, and I collected the money. She laughed, enjoying this, saying that I made my first sale. I walked around for several hours after that, thinking to myself, "I got to sell something!" It's the little things, I tell ya.

"We sometimes underestimate the influence of little things."
- Charles W Chesnutt

It's quiet time and contemplation. It's watching fish swim, admiring the flash of color. It's simple experiences that invite a moment of holiness.

"Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to accomplish something big, that we fail to notice the little things that give life its magic."
 - unattributed

I've always been a sucker for magic.