We’ve all heard and perhaps used the saying “it’s the little things” when referring to the ability to appreciate seemingly small details, good fortunes, or joyful experiences in life. Sure, it might seem like a cliché, but sayings don’t become clichés unless they contain some grain of lasting truth. With all the daily challenges we face, I think it’s more important than ever to appreciate the little things. They can tip the scales to a more joyful life.
Just this week, one of those little things surprised me and left me feeling extremely grateful. My preferred store for items like toothpaste and laundry detergent is Target. Every time I check out, a prompt appears on the credit card screen asking for my phone number as part of the Target Circle Club. At some point, a cashier must have convinced me to join, although now I have no idea what the benefits are of being in this club.
I seem to recall receiving an email near my birthday offering to save a percentage off of my next purchase. I never quite figured out how to redeem that offer. Still, every time that screen pops up, I dutifully enter my phone number. Surely, there must be some advantage. Over the past few visits, I’ve questioned why I continue to give Target information about my shopping habits.
During this most recent visit, I almost ignored that little screen, but something nudged me to type in my phone number once again. To my surprise, once I hit “enter” another message popped up on that screen inquiring if I’d like to apply the $17.15 credit I had earned toward today’s purchase. Of course! Why wouldn’t I?
I’m not sure why this message popped up for the first time that day, but I was grateful for the significant and unexpected savings on my purchases. It was a nice confirmation that we don’t always know the reasons why we do things. However, when we follow those nudges, life may give us sweet little surprises.
In the big scheme of things, this event was quite inconsequential. But it reminded me of an episode of one of my favorite TV shows from the early 2000s, Joan of Arcadia. The show only lasted 2 seasons, but I loved the premise. God would appear in different forms (ie. cute boy on the bus, school cafeteria server, sanitation worker) to a teenage girl who was struggling to fit in at her new school.
At first, Joan thought she was going crazy, but with time and experience, she began to trust her new relationship with the Divine. Each week, God gave Joan an assignment that she initially resisted but eventually would do. It was God, after all. By the end of the episode, Joan would learn a life lesson or understand the bigger picture of why she was asked to do things like join the chess team or get a job at a bookstore.
The show never hit you over the head with a lesson, nor did it feel preachy or biased toward any particular faith tradition. It simply presented situations and choices through the eyes of an awkward teenager, and then let viewers draw their own conclusions. The particular episode that came to mind did this masterfully.
In this episode, God asked Joan to spend her weekend volunteering for an organization similar to Habitat for Humanity. But Joan had big plans with her boyfriend that weekend and was not interested in changing them to pound nails with a bunch of strangers. To say she was angry at God for this request would be an understatement, but reluctantly, she complied.
By the end of the episode, the viewer is privy to a whole chain of events that Joan changing her plans set off. Multiple connections were made that greatly benefited people close to her, but Joan never saw any of the results. She remained mad and frustrated in her room as the credits rolled.
I thought the writers did a brilliant job of presenting a profound truth without feeling the need to give our protagonist an explanation for why her plans were not the highest and best for all. In life, we don’t always see how the choices we make impact our lives and the lives of others. But rest assured, if we follow our guidance and make choices from the heart, ripples of love will start in us and then expand in all directions, positively affecting people and situations we may never know.
So go ahead and do those little things you feel guided to do, even when they don’t appear to make sense. You never know when life will pull back the curtain and reveal a joyful surprise.
If I can assist you in following guidance and listening to your heart more consistently, please consider giving yourself the gift of a Spiritual Coaching Session or private Family Constellations Session. Both can help pull back the curtain and reveal a life more joyful than you thought possible. And thanks to Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime, we can connect no matter where you are in the world. Book a session with my automated scheduler or send me an email with questions. I look forward to creating miracles with you!
Until next time, I encourage you to trust your guidance and keep noticing the little things that bring you joy. They will add up quickly!
A miracle is never lost. It may touch many people you have not even met, and produce undreamed of changes in situations of which you are not even aware.
Miracle Principle #45 from A Course in Miracles ~ T-1.I.45:1-2
