Small, small, small. Our world has been made so small.
I recently was reminded of exactly how small (yay, quantitative metrics) when I received my Google Maps monthly travel summary. I keep telling myself to figure out how to turn off the notifications, yet it also serves as a comical reminder that my world outside my home pretty much focuses exclusively on the grocery store, the post office, my Mom's house (for grocery drops), and walking my dog James.
And while yes, there are plenty of big things I miss, right now I am OK with small.
Small means focusing my protective and restorative care on seemingly inconsequential actions (10 minutes here, 15 minutes there) to then discover, weeks later, that cumulative effort matters.
Small means embracing tiny moments of communication--texts, GIFs, direct messages, emails--knowing that those little touchpoints could very well be someone's life raft for the day (because they sure are for me).
Small means spending many hours researching small local makers and artists so I can amplify and shop them (details below).
Small means donating to organizations in my immediate community.
Small means communicating with city officials and employees to do the slow, necessary work of making positive community change.
Small means appreciating the improvements in efficiency that have come with this insane period of time.
Small means appreciating the hugs and tiny moments with my kids because they aren't running around doing the things they normally do out in the world.
Small means simplifying holiday gift giving and explicitly releasing my family of the potential financial burden of gifting my kids.
Small means knowing that the hundreds of GOTV letters and postcards I wrote this year connected me to other human beings via an invisible, powerful thread.
Small means initiating tiny acts of healing and forgiveness because they most definitely matter.
Small means letting go of little aggravations because I have realized that they aren't worth my energy.
Small means exploring my weaknesses and vulnerabilities because I'm the one right here.
Small means thinking about the much bigger things out there, and actually having the bandwidth to notice and appreciate how big they are, since they are unavailable to me right now.
Small is OK right now. We need to stay strong and keep going. Please keep wearing masks. Please avoid indoor gatherings. Please stay distant physically. And please find those small life raft moments.
