The Littlest Thing

I am a big believer that the some of the littlest things we do have the greatest impact.

For example, a woman at church today made my day.  Pretty much by just being herself.  She smiled.  She spoke to me.  She gave me a compliment.  She chose to sit next to me.  And during the funny parts of the sermon, she leaned into/nudged me.  And it's not like there's a romantic interest there (she's got a boyfriend).  She was just being her warm, friendly self.

But it made my day so much better than it was.  Not that I was in a bad mood, but it filled up my quality-time tank a bit.  Just enough that when I got back to my apartment and saw the annoying family with the annoying kid, instead of averting my gaze, I nodded at them.  And the dad waved back.  And that was better than dwelling in my normal animosity.

I've been working on being more friendly, too.  For example, I was reading an article about being friendly, and it suggested complimenting people.  Which, in the past, has not really occurred to me as something people ... do.  So I've been trying to do that.  I like your green dress.  I dig your Harry Potter shirt.  Your eyes are really pretty today.  And the thing I've noticed is that while they may appreciate the compliment, it does much more for me.  I'm spending time thinking about them and trying to notice something that I can then appreciate.  Which is good for me, because it gets me out of my head and thinking about others.  Which, if you know me, is not my ... first impulse.

I'm telling you, you don't even know the ripple effect you can have by smiling at someone or engaging them in conversation and looking them in the eye.  I honestly believe that the littlest thing can, stupidly enough, change lives.