The little things matter.

I realize that more and more as time goes on.  The little things in life matter more than a lot of the big things.  The text to check on you after a friend knows how exhausted you’ve been.  The card that just says hi I miss you.  The hug that says Happy New Year.  The twinkle of a light on a Christmas tree.  The feel of an arm wrapped around you while laying on the couch.  The handwritten note from a student saying I missed you.  The angel for the top of my tree so I’d have something on the top.  The quote given to me to tell me what I do matters.  The waking up to no alarm and no pressure.  Holding a plank for 10 seconds longer than the time before.  The texts that just make you smile throughout the day.  The unconditional love of a dog.  The Thank You a friend says. 

When the routine changes and the schedule changes and things feel out of control, it’s the little things that make a difference.  It’s the people and the things they do and say that matter.  It’s not things.  It’s not stuff.  It’s not tangible. 

It’s knowing that we matter.  We matter to the people we love and that love us.  We matter to our friends.  We matter to our colleagues.  We matter to our families.  Why is it so hard to tell the people that matter to us that they matter?  Why do we think they will just know?  We show it in so many ways but we rarely think about saying it.  Not everyone ‘speaks’ the same language of love.  For some, they need to hear the words.  For some, it’s the language of touch.  We need to make sure people know they matter in their language.  That puts us out of our comfort zone if our languages don’t match.  It makes the risk higher.  Why is it such a risk to tell someone they matter?  To tell them what they do matters.  We can’t assume that people know they matter.  They might know they matter and then have one of those days where nothing goes right and they feel down.  They sink and just a few little words can make a big difference.