Great big Gigantic things can come in little tiny packages.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60886372@N00/11138420276

Oh yes, there are some great things that come in tiny packages.  Life is kind of like Monty Hall's Let's make a deal.  You have something in your hand and yet you are tempted to trade it in on something else, but that something else is located behind a curtain, or in a big box on the floor, and you have no idea what is in either. Now you have to decide what to do.  You may get lucky and win big, or you may get "Zonked".

One of the biggest lessons I had to learn about life is to be thankful for what you currently have.  The old adage that a bird in the hand is worth two in a bush rings so true.  Why give up what you have for something that may or may not ever manifest itself in your life?  Now I'm not saying that you can't have wishes and desires.  What I am saying is to be thankful and grateful for what you do have, no matter how small it might be.  If you are constantly going after something bigger, something better, or something that someone else has managed to obtain, then you are loosing sight of what is really important.  Being appreciative of the things in your life is the first step.  Certainly you can want more, but that more is never going to come your way if you first are not thankful for the little things that you already have.

When I set out to write my first book I did what many aspiring writers do and that was think of all the things I could do when I became a Best Selling Author.  The visions were very real to me, and I held on to them.  At the same time I was so appreciative that I was doing what I loved most in life, and that was writing.  I write because that is what I am.  Whatever comes of it is OK with me, I find happiness and contentment in what I am doing.  If you cannot find that peace and contentment in what you are doing, then you will always be looking for something bigger, something better, and your peace and happiness will always be something you are striving after.

I really believe that it's the little things in life that bring us the most happiness.  It is the little things in life that center us, make us who were were destined to be, and keep us always moving forward in those things we were meant to do.  Just as any action begins with a tiny thought, big success begins with little wins.  If you take a look at some of the most successful people in history, each of them began with little successes.  Microsoft was not built in a day.  Bill Gates had an idea, ran with it, and now look at what has come about.  We have some huge airplanes flying around right now, but it all began with that tiny little wooden plane in Kitty Hawk.

I know first hand what holding on to big desires and dreams can be like.  There are days when you simply want to run at warp speed with them, but I also know that they need to be nurtured, they need to be polished, and more then anything, they need to be executed at the right time, in the right place, and in the right way.  The little gifts in life, those that come in tiny little packages, are the ones that I seem to learn the most from.  Think of it this way:  you have three presents in front of you.  One is huge, one is just medium, and the third is a tiny little box.  Which one peaks your interest the most?  There is no right or wrong answer to that question, it is more of an observation on my part.  I can tell you that I love the tiny present, because often it is something that leads to something else.  Let's say that the tiny package has a gift card in it.  Just think of all the fun you are going to have trying to figure out what to get with the gift card.  You see it's not just getting the card, it's also using it.  The gift that truly keeps on giving.  Little kids would probably go straight to the big box.  They have yet to learn that size doesn't matter.  However, as one gets older, as one gains experience, then they begin to look at things a little differently, and before you know it they realize that good things can come in tiny packages.

I have said all that to say this:  do not forget the little lessons in life.  Do not overlook the smallest simply because it has been dwarfed by something bigger.  Those little lessons you have learned will someday add up to something very, very big.  When you were just a new born, your parents did not start out by feeding you steak.  You began with fluids, then moved on to that wonderful baby food, and finally you graduated to whole foods.  Had your parents started stuffing steak down your throat when you were young, you would certainly have had problems.  Let the little lessons move you forward to the bigger lessons, and let your little victories catapult you onward to even larger and more  fascinating victories.  It really is the little things in life that often mean the most, often teach us the most, and more often then not change us the most.  Small things may not be the most glamorous, but they certainly have a way of turning things around for you, and often that is all that is required.