Letting Little Things Bother You

In the neat and tidy corner of my mind, I tinker and toy with a few thoughts. I think about the story I am writing…wondering where the rebel horse Esperanza will go after she’s broken free from the palace; or how to cleverly introduce my hero into the story without him tripping over a few holes I’ve forgotten to fill in along the plot. I think about the upcoming week, how I will ever make it through work knowing that my family, kittens, a pool, Hobby Lobby, and three weeks of 24/7 freedom wait on the other side… I also think about this weird headache in my head and wonder if any moment I might plop over dead from a mysterious illness that no one had ever heard of.

All of them, however, fail to distract me from the naughty, unpleasant little sprite that keeps throwing pens and wads of paper and my green flip flops at my head. It should be something that a mature, wise, noble 25 year old could easily ignore. I’ve had much greater things thrown at me. But sometimes it’s those little things, the paper clip in your eye or the hanger that hits you just right on your elbow that cause the angriest kind of frustration. I mean, anyone can battle a furious tiger on their way to the mail box. There is great honor and adventure and bravery in such battles!

But it is humiliating to acknowledge that something as small and insignificant as a tiny, sprite flicking erasers at you would get under your skin enough to rouse such volcanic anger. An annoying gnat buzzing around your head, dropping your toast on the jelly side, running out of gas, getting a paper cut, being fussed at, someone acting petty, a tear in your nylons,  someone stealing your parking spot--all of those tiny, minuscule, frustrating, aggravating little things that try to just push us over the edge...can really do just that.

Great, wise people—the ones who are usually dead—give us lots of cliched, sage-like tips on how to combat the little nuisances of life. They tell us to let go, to wait, to have patience, to stop seeking happiness and let it come to you, to smile, to laugh more, to dance in the rain, to forgive—and to love. Somehow love seems to be the panacea to every problem in the entire world. Love everybody and everything will be okay. They are all pretty thoughts…but how do you turn them into actions? How do you love people who really, quite honestly, make you unhappy or angry? How do you wait a year when you think you cannot wait another second? How do you feel happy when there is a storm inside of you?

And really, how do you ignore those pestering, annoying, mind-maddening, bamboozling little sprites when they just simply will not leave you alone?

If I had a magical sock that would sing you the truth—opera style— every time you wore it on your hand and asked it the secrets of the universe, I could probably tell you the answer to all those questions easily. As it is, however, that I am clean out of magical socks (that nasty little sprite has stolen them) I will just find resolution upon this idea:

That the more you grow and the more you experience, the more you mellow out…the more you realize just how silly it is to get so upset over little things. You fail to find the reasons, which seemed so earth shattering before, that made you a mess. And you begin to realize you have more power than you think. You can be confident, you can be strong, because you realize that you are perfectly able to handle the daily troubles of this life. And when the little sprite rubs its hands together in devilish glee and heaves  a toaster,your way you, for the first time in your life, are able to choose whether or not you shall grab the imp and lock him up in the drawer or display your control of self by simply ignoring him altogether.

Some people never get to this place…others do. I will get there one day. Perseverance and faith is the key.

Faith gives you the hope that the next day will not be so bad. Perseverance gives you the strength to actually carry it out. How do you get perseverance and faith? I don’t feel them as often as I’d like, and it is only by the grace of God that I feel them at all. The more you are put in situations that test your strength, the stronger you will become. You don't just get perseverance by wishing for it or praying desperately to God...no, instead God sends you boot camp obstacles to train you and make you fit. The greatest things in life usually take the greatest effort. And if we keep at it, never give up, we will win in the end.

So when little things are bothering you, remember that they won't always bother you. Someday it will all make sense. Someday you will laugh at how upset you got, but you will understand why you did. Never give up. Push through a rough day. Sometimes you will sweat the small stuff… but that doesn't mean you'll always sweat the small stuff.

At least this is what I believe… I’ve let ridiculous things bother me and usually end up laughing about it some time later.  Have patience with yourself. You'll get there soon if you never give up! You know what they say, “All good things come to those who ignore sprites…”

Or something like that…