Take time to appreciate the small things

It is a time of desperation.
Somehow one is unable to make sense of what is happening or why it is happening. Without answers to important questions, one is left helpless.
We simply do not know what to do, to control or master the situation. We do not know how to make it stop.
Wave after wave of emotion sweeps over us and we are unable to predict when or if this terrible situation is going to end.
This overwhelming feeling describes the way in which many people are living today. Zimbabweans, along with many others, are experiencing critical moments.
These are defining moments where the tension is too much and something just has to give. The number of people going for months without salaries is increasing.
Tenants, both individuals and corporate, are failing to pay rentals in places where they used to afford. Do you look for a cheaper place, when there is nothing to pay, even for the cheapest?
This is being experienced in some other countries too. One Greek journalist named Aris Hadjigeorgiou talked about how he had not been paid by his newspaper in months.
His colleagues at the paper had also not been paid. Yet despite the lack of salaries few, if any employees, had left the paper for the good reason that there was just nowhere else to go.
This feeling of helplessness is common.
The Bible in various ways teaches us that when faced with calamity of whatever proportion, shape or size, we are to be of good cheer.
In the book of First Corinthians, in chapter ten one translation says; “the temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.
“And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.
“When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure”.
A crisis, whether self-inflicted or caused by others or circumstances, has to be endured and outlived.
There are many examples of characters in the bible who endured to see the goodness of Mother Nature, such as Job, Joseph and Jesus himself.
In the different types of crisis, people give meaning to the events that happen in their lives.
As people face health, family, relationship, career and other varied types of crises, it is how one perceives and responds to the events, which define whether it is a crisis or not.
This also determines how long it will last. Each of us when witnessing or participating in the same event will experience it differently.
What one sees as a problem to another it is nothing but a passing fluke.
To a large extent, the differences are linked to each of our unique life histories.
We understand new and trying events in terms of what we have already experienced.
We find ways of fitting new experiences into what we already know or perhaps, through our beliefs or our faith.
This provides in us a sense of both familiarity and comfort.
In this way we get a sense of mastery and control over the challenges and this make the crisis manageable and not disruptive.
Creation has surrounded us with small things which our commercial ways of life have caused us to ignore.
Among the millions of recorded stories of different coping mechanisms employed by humans, it is the small things which tend to provide the most effective comfort and way out.
It is the quiet time spent in prayer. It is that smile from a child that warms our hearts.
When one is facing a life-threatening illness, they begin to notice and listen to the rhythm of their heartbeat. They become aware of even the tiniest physiological function.
Resting in bed all day, the sounds of footsteps mean someone is coming to help or visit and that you are not alone.
When the car breaks down and one cannot have it fixed, suddenly they realise that walking to the bus terminus to catch the bus, rather than drive to work, actually provides valuable exercise and socialisation.
Small things in the freshness of the air that we breathe, the stars that light up the sky, the sounds of cars that roar past our neighbourhoods late at night, the smell of the rains at the onset of the rainy season, watching the long streams of water meander through rocks and hills, listening to the humming birds, or the cocks crow early in the morning.
Through reflections or focus on small things provided by the goodness of Mother Nature, it is amazing how the weight of a crisis is gently lifted off.
Even more surprising is when one deflects attention from their circumstances, towards helping others.
Small things help us to make sense out of what is happening. Small things make us realise the awesome goodness of a simple life.
Focusing on small things forces one to worship the Creator of heaven and earth and all that is in it by taking our attention away from catastrophes and appreciating His great handiwork.
As we marvel and adore the small things in and around us, the creative nature of God becomes part of us in creating solutions to our crisis.
In practical terms, when we take time to appreciate and revere small things, it becomes possible to assess the magnitude of the crisis, in context with the great big God and creation.
In this way one starts to acknowledge the aspects of the situation over which they have no control and those over which they do have some control.
Taking time to appreciate small things and creation helps one to prevent damages associated with ego.
It helps increase self-confidence, and self-worth in knowing that even you in your present state matter in the bigger picture of creation.
This equips you to use whatever control you can have.
This might involve simple prioritising actions and responses that need to take place right away, as opposed to those that can be put off.
In doing this, you strip the situation of any power to create a feeling of hopelessness.
In times of crisis, it is the feeling of hopelessness and lack of control that exacerbates anxiety and also results in other negative emotional states.
Appreciating small things leaves you with positive emotions.
Focusing on small things helps one to compartmentalise problems.
As one pays attention to the small things, one begins to see that in creation, there are seasons and God himself respects those seasons.
Understanding seasons in our lives will instruct us on what to expect and how to prepare for it.
Crisis must be viewed through seasons.
This involves separating present crisis from other areas of your life that are not, and do not necessarily need to be affected by what you are experiencing.
This could be about adjusting your mental approach to the crisis, which you are facing. That is why it is important to constantly renew one’s mind according to the seasons of our lives and not of other people.
Appreciating small things in life provides valuable information about resources, programmes and agencies that are available to assist you in ameliorating the impact of the crisis.
Knowledge is power; knowledge will significantly reduce your sense of hopelessness and loss of control in times of crisis.
The process of seeking out information about your circumstances will often help to restore a sense of calm and confidence in your ability to overcome whatever adversity you are facing.
The bus driver, or conductor, the gardener, your two-year-old daughter, among others, could give out the most important link to the solution of your crisis, but only when you begin to notice them.
Creation has a unique way of placing the solitary in families. In times of crisis, it is common to think that you are alone and feel isolated.
But as one takes their focus away from the “big” crisis and focus on the small things created by a Big God, it becomes clear that you do not have to be alone.
Someone else, somewhere, has had a similar experience. It is especially strengthening if this person is doing better now.
For in this way you have proof that you will get through your present circumstances too.
Spend more time with positive friends and family. Yes, remove yourself from negative ones, at least until the crisis is over. Small things help you draw some strength and insight. Prayer is always a tremendous source of spiritual inspiration.
In small things we find the wonders of compassion, how the intricacies of creation require us to reach out to others.
Reaching out to and helping others out of their own problems actually helps you recover and rebuild faster.
Volunteering, sharing your experience, mentoring someone who is going through the same situation, giving to a charitable cause that helps people who are experiencing a similar situation.
These are all ways that you can rebuild your life, while adding meaning to your existence.
This is how simple creation works, trees provide shelter, manure, firewood, food, timber and medicines; despite the heavy rains, the scorching sun, the howling winds and darkest nights.
Likewise, no matter what crisis you are facing and you are still alive, it means your purpose and destiny is still waiting for you.
It is not as bad as it seems, get up, dust your feet and soldier on, it will pass.