The Little Things Matter

I am finally back to working on another marquetry picture - one that got set aside as other things came to the forefront of needing my attention. It's not easy to pick up and jump into a piece after I have set it aside for so long.  I lose it's "story" and it takes awhile to step back into it.  As I was cutting and fine tuning pieces yesterday, it came to me that it's the small details that make the whole thing work.  It's something I have found that applies to just about everything in life as well.

 It's not usually the big things that overwhelm me it's a whole string of little things - little frustrations like a broken shoe lace when I am in a hurry or not being able to find something that make me feel overwhelmed.  Add a whole string of little things together and....  But then again, the little things can make a difference in a good way too.  An unexpected phone call from a friend.  A smile from a stranger in the grocery store, a postcard in the mail full of good wishes or the chickens starting to lay eggs again after a two month hiatus.  Little gifts that lighten the spirit and make me feel like I am on the right track after all.

As each piece fits with the one next to it, the story unfolds - the grains and colors adding depth to the whole until it becomes a cohesive tale - a momentary freeze frame in the story.  The details give a richness and depth and without them, the whole story would be flat and devoid of life.  When things seem somehow stuck - like there is no progress being made, all I have to do is look back at where I started with all of this to know that although it may seem that way, it isn't really that way at all.  Even small things make a difference to the over all richness of the experience - this creative process called Life.

So when you are feeling bogged down in all the details - stand back.  Look at where you started, how far you've come and where you want to go in your story.  You just might surprise yourself to actually see just how far you have come.  The little things really do count.