Simple Things

The greatest home theater system in the world will do you little good when you are out of toilet paper. Not that we have the greatest home theater system in the world - or any home theater system, for that matter. But we do have toilet paper.

This morning I was brushing my teeth, and I happened to glance down at the container where the spare rolls of toilet paper are stacked, and it was completely full, and I smiled. Then I wondered, why did that make me smile? It's because that, although it really is a simple thing, it is important.

I think that most of us found the world to be magical when we were young. We could spend hours watching the busy activity of a colony of ants as they scurried back and forth in an orderly procession bearing food back to the colony for storage.

Or a caterpillar inch its way along a leaf. Once,as a child, we found the chrysalis of a Monarch caterpillar and took it home. We watched it day after day, all winter long, as the magic happened inside. When the new butterfly emerged we had a birthday party and all sang happy birthday to the new arrival. As it floated off on the breeze we waved goodbye, and I always imagined that I had a friend out there, somewhere, that would speak well of me to the other butterflies.

What good does it do to know the exact molecular configuration of a polypeptide when you don't know how to smile? Is there any magic at all in knowing the exact number in your bank balance at any given moment, if you don't know how to give love? Scrooge found out the importance of the simple.

I am not saying that the complicated things of this world are not important. I am merely suggesting that all of us need to be more childlike (not childish) at times, and see the simple. When we do, we will be reminded of all the miracles that surround us.

Or if you want to escape into a world of wonder, read Peter Pan. Not the Disney picture book, but the novel by J. M. Barrie. Clearly, here is a novelist who could see and remember the magic of the simple things - like a shadow. Remember, Peter cries when he cannot reattach his shadow...

A simple gesture, a smile, a hug, a pat on the shoulder, often does more to lift the spirits of another that an entire hour of intense therapy. Feel the magic inside and close your eyes and listen. Right now I hear the ticking of my wall clock and my mind is swept back to childhood when I would listen to the watch on my daddy's wrist - tic, tic, tic... magical.

I hear my wife outside digging in the dirt. She likes dirt. Well, not dirt. But dirt - you know, the kind you find in gardens and outside in the yard. She likes to dig in it. For her, this is magical. She knows that by the simple process of poking around a bit, turning the soil a couple of times and then dropping in a magic bean (okay, its a seed), a miracle will happen.

And what a miracle it is. I don't know how to create a flower! I only know how to plant a seed. I don't know how to manufacture a tree, but I surely do like them. Miracles.

In your busy, hectic day, always remember to set aside a moment for the simple things. Sometimes there is magic in just putting your feet up. Feeling the pressure drain away and the aching throb lessen is a a miracle of relief.

Oh, how I love this life of ours! Get rid of the complications when you can and find the simple things that will always, always, make you smile!