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The Small Things in Life

The world is all about big and great things nowadays: big awards, tall skyscrapers, big countries, gigantic mansions, etc. Everything is about going big, and staying big, because in life, you got to live it big. But then, of course, are all the things that aren't big; those are the small things, and many people believe that those are the things that really matter. In fact, Mother Theresa even says, "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love." That's the only thing that one can do "greatly". Small things are the things that most people fail to notice in life, especially nowadays. Small things are those little things that go on in life, passing without notice, right before people's very eyes. People desire greatness, so they only notice greatness, but in the same instance, they don't realize what those small things do to greatness. One person that does pay attention to small details is the one and only Sherlock Holmes. With his very keen skill of noticing the small things in life, he teaches people that dreaming big is good, but it's the small details that count. It's all those small details that Sherlock Holmes seems to always notice that escapes other people's eyes that makes him so much more able to solve even the toughest crimes; that's the power of small things. In fact, another man that notices small things is Basho, a Japanese poet. The small things in life- the little flowers spurting, the small cloud in a vast blue sky, and a small fish in the rushing river- these things seem to calm him and provide him with a sense of peace. And it's in these small things, these moments, that count. In a hundred year old life, the one moment one may remember is that moment, that very small moment, where one's loved one smiles and them. It's just a small speck in a vast life, but it's the small moments that count for the most. Small moments or ideas are like the foundation for a giant skyscraper. The small moments are like the foundation, and a stable one is vital, if you don't want the skyscraper to crash. All the big moments are the bricks, and the determination and hard work is the steel supports and the cement. Without any one of them, the skyscraper would not stand. But the most the most important out of all these things is the foundation; it's the most important out of all things. Though most people, when they see the skyscraper, they appreciate the actual building, but every skyscraper has started out as a foundation, something lower than even the ground itself. Every skyscraper started out as nothing more than a whole in the ground, and the small things started filling up the area. As you can see from the example of the skyscraper, with all the small things you do, it can amount to something pretty spectacular. So in life, one has to take in all, and observe everything. Notice the small things, because it might be those things that count the most in the end.

Sports

In the world of sports, everything is about numbers. In baseball, there's the batting average, the OPS, the pitch count, the strikes and balls, and the number of innings. In football, there's the yards left to gain until a first down, the quarter, who's on the field, and if one should kick the field goal, punt it, run it, throw it, or go for the two point conversion, all based on the score. In basketball, athletes must be careful of the time left, where they are when they shoot (three point line or inside it), and the score. The point is that with all these numbers in athletes heads, it gets confusing sometimes. But the successful athletes all know how to prioritize these numbers, and at the top of that list is the number one, as in first place. As a kid, everybody is told to compete with themselves, to do their personal best; but really, all that is is recreational; the real deal is that sports is a competition. There is really no competition that offers awards for participation. Right now, the Winter Olympics are on, and the Olympics are all about being "faster, higher, stronger". But is this a competition against oneself? On the surface, it is definitely not; it's a competition to be better against others, and to be better than others, not oneself. But really, that's not the case; there's a hidden meaning in the Olympics that not much people understand, maybe not even the athletes themselves. The Olympics- any competition, really- is a competition of guts, to get faster, get higher, and get stronger. It's a competition strictly against oneself. The other competitors? As Magic Johnson likes to say, "If you're a competitive person, that stays with you. You don't stop. You always look over your shoulder." The other people, in a competitor's eyes, are nothing but obstacles to overcome, people to help the athlete get better. Everybody performs better when the will is there, and the competition is also there, too; that's a key component. If everything is so easy, then one wouldn't perform at his/her best; their medium is good enough to win, so why try, then? It's when the heat is on, and the other competitors are right behind one, that one has to channel the inner power, and to give it one's all. I've felt this in many instances of my life before, but none as strong as this one time. Me, I've always been a fierce competitor, and I've always wanted to be number one at everything and anything. In PE class one day, we were running the mile. That was the first time; being pretty fast and having good stamina, I easily outran the second place person. The next time, the person gained on me, and steadily, I began to loose my edge until the mile was becoming a neck to neck race. At first, when the competition wasn't heated, I felt like the mile was easy, with everything under control if I just jogged. But then the heat grew more and more intense, until my competitiveness almost forced me to try harder, to work faster, urging my limbs to move like they've never moved before; that's what it feels like as a competitor when the heat is on, that even though a certain objective is well out of reach, it's what one has to aim for. It's as if one's fastest, or best performance, isn't good enough. But the results will show different, as at the beginning of the year, when I hadn't been pressured to do my best, I ran the mile in almost seven minutes and thirty seconds. Now, as my competition grows, to maintain that first place, I've got to run my fastest and try my fastest, and the results have shown, as I now can run the mile in around six minutes. That's the level of competition that one needs to succeed. It's certainly a race against oneself, to be better than one's ever been before, these sporting games. It's like life, having to constantly improve oneself to maintain one's position, or even possibly go up. But this is all hidden behind the competition, who in your eyes are nothing but helpers to help pace one, and help one get on the right track. That's what the competitors see.

Written January 2010, edited December 2010