The little details
The student, according to him, had finished the painting. He called his teacher to have him evaluated. He approached the teacher and observed the work carefully and with concentration for a while. So, he asked the student for the palette and brushes. With great dexterity he made a few strokes here and there. When the teacher returned the paintings to the student, the picture had changed remarkably. The student was amazed; before his very eyes the work had gone from mediocre to sublime. He almost reverently he said to the teacher:
– How is it possible that with a few touches, simple details, the picture has changed so much?
– It’s just that art is in those little details. The teacher answered.
If we see it slowly, we will realize that everything in life is details. The great events dazzle us so much that sometimes they prevent us from seeing those small miracles that surround us every day. A bird that sings, a flower that opens, the kiss of a child on our cheek, are examples of small details that, when added together, can make our existence different.
All relationships – family, marriage, courtship or friendship – are based on details. Nobody expects you to go up the Atlantic Ocean for him, although you will probably talk to him on his birthday. Nobody will ask you to climb Mount Everest to prove your friendship, but they will ask you to visit him for a few minutes when you know he is sick.
There are those who spend their time waiting for an opportunity to heroically demonstrate their love for someone. The sad thing is that while they wait for that great occasion they let many others pass by, modest but significant. You can go through life without the other person ever needing you to donate a kidney, even though she kept waiting for you to call her back.
It is sometimes thought that happiness is like winning the lottery prize, a majestic event that overnight will change a miserable life for one full of joy. This is false, in truth, happiness is based on trifles, on details that season our existence day by day.
We are too easily fooled by the apparent simplicity. DON’T ever underestimate the power of the little things: a flower, a letter, a pat on the shoulder, a word of encouragement, or a few lines on a card. All these may seem like little things, but do not think that they are insignificant.
In the moments of greatest happiness or greatest pain, they become the cement that joins the bricks of that construction that we call relationship. The flower will wither, the words may be carried away by the wind, but the memory of both will remain for a long time in the mind and heart of the person who received them.
What do you expect then? Write that email, make that visit, make that call with your phone, send that whatsapp. Do it now that you still have the chance. DO NOT leave it for later because it seems like little to you. In relationships there are no small things, there are only those that were made and those that remained in good intentions…
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