Tiny

You know that tiny feeling you get when you wear a hoodie that is about three sizes too big for you, when you walk through a really oversized doorway, or when you walk along a trail in the woods with really tall trees towering over you?  Well I really love that feeling.  It brings on a certain feeling of humility.  So many times it seems that people think they are invincible and have a sense of entitlement.  Don’t get me wrong I am right there with them (especially at cross walks) but that is why I love this feeling.  It brings me back to reality and to the fact that I am vulnerable and without those around me I am nothing substantial to the world.  I alone make my own path that shapes my future but I have a responsibility to act with respect to others and to help those less fortunate along the way. 

I can move from Michigan to Pennsylvania and on to Chicago and it ultimately only affects me.  My moving around did not do anything to change what happens for anyone else.  At the same time that we are all alone we are all connected as well.  Moving into a new neighborhood adds you to a community.  You are still yourself and have the power to do what makes you happy but you also have a responsibility to leave whatever place you are in better then when you arrived.  Most of us make smart choices that better out lives but not everyone chooses as wisely and some people need a little help.  I am not saying everyone needs it or deserves it because there are some straight out nut jobs in the world that do not deserve our help.  I still refuse to give money to a homeless person on the street but I have no problem helping cook food at a homeless shelter.  There is a big difference between looking for a handout and looking for help.  The shelter I helped out at last winter and will be again helping at next month assists homeless people get past the hurdle that lead them to that lifestyle and get them back on their feet, independently.



Image from Postsecrets.com



So many of us get wrapped up in our daily life and forget these things that connect us all.  I saw this on my friends twitter and I really liked it and saved the image.  This image came from Post Script which is a site I had never heard of before.  This picture goes very well with this feeling of tiny that I love.  I had one of those moments this past weekend.  I was out on the boat on the lake with my neighbors and we shut off the engine and just floated.  It was so still and quite it just made me feel so tiny and that any issues I was having just melted away under the sunset and then the stars that came out.  We all need to remember that we are not the center of the world and that while we are alone we are all part of something bigger.  Just because we may be having a good day doesn’t mean the person next to us is.  Smile! It is the easiest way to make the world a better place.