“Don’t ever lose your gratitude for the small things, someday they will be the most cherished”. A friend posted this today. I told my sister today that a certain bowl she was using was one from our grandma’s house. I have a lamp in the living room from grandma as well. There are a lot of things around my house from either my parents or their folks. Small things that mean a lot to me. You might have see a ring on my middle finger. It is the metal from Mom’s original wedding band – I had it melted down and added to, and it serves as a reminder to me of the importance of family … priorities. I went to a funeral of a good friend’s mom yesterday, and this morning came another passing of a great guy – dad, grandpa, great grandpa. Hold on to the small things, they will definitely be the most cherished someday.
Stuff. I’ve been cleaning out closets over the last couple of days, and brought in a lot of nice suits and coats to be donated. As I was going through stuff I took a lot of “junk” to the basement to store. I kept thinking to myself … “store for what??” “I’m never going to look at that videotape again, and that old AM/FM boom box will not be used ever again in the same way – why hold on to it?” I just wasn’t ready to pitch usable garbage. What I need to do is look at all of my small stuff (and big stuff) and really attempt to find it’s long term value to my life. If I don’t see myself as cherishing it in the future, I need to reclassify and pitch.
So I’ll take this to the next level. What are the things I hold onto as thoughts and perspectives that I’ll cherish someday? From 40 years ago, I still hold onto my boy scout training. “Be prepared” is something I think is pretty valuable. Lessons from dad, important*. The Brady Bunch/Beverly Hillbillies theme? Not so much. Anger, resentment, self pity, shame … not so much. Have gratitude for the small wins and beginning friendships, there is a good chance they’ll grow into some big.
*Less than ten minutes early is late in my book; Don’t look 5 feet ahead of the car when driving you’ll get in an accident, focus on the horizon; Sometimes life is tough, deal with it.
-Steve Simonin, President & CEO
