Baby-Birds_112759-480×360 (Photo credit: Public Domain Photos)

When I was little I spent quite a bit of time in Italy with my grandmother. I did lots to keep myself occupied (collected giant snails, rode a bike without brakes down the mountain side, climbed hay bales, and a number of other things that got me in trouble). I never went looking to get into trouble but always found myself knee-deep in it.  I miss those days.

On one particular day I walked out the front door ready to run off on a new adventure.  Outside lying on the floor was a little baby bird that had fallen out of a tree and died. Had anyone else seen it they probably would have thrown it away in the garbage or tossed it into the field. Not me, I have always had a big heart. There happened to be a pile of dirt outside the house, the reason for its presence escapes me. I dug a hole and buried the baby bird.  I found two little purple flowers and stuck them in the dirt. While it may have seemed insignificant, to me this little helpless bird deserved a proper burial.

I went about the rest of my day not thinking about the bird at all (my attention was always pulled in ten different directions).

The next morning I walked outside ready for whatever the world would throw at me with all intentions of throwing stuff right back. As I was about to run off I passed the pile of dirt and stopped in my tracks, confused by what I saw. The flowers that I had left were now intertwined and had grown into a little arch over the spot where I had buried the bird. The dirt was untouched from how I had left it the day before. I pulled the flowers out of the dirt, which to my surprise had grown roots.

I started to dig… the baby bird was gone. The arch of flowers, that now laid next to the dirt, was all that remained and the only sign that I had not dreamed up this little bird. I could not explain what happened, but it has changed my perspective on life.

The smallest things in life are easily overlooked as we march forward. An expression, a random act of kindness, a simple gesture, other people, and the smallest of life’s creatures are often overlooked. We can easily glaze over little things, thinking that our attention will have an insignificant impact.  However, it is the smallest things that can have the greatest effects and leave the deepest impressions, if not on yourself then on others that you touch.

So as you keep your eyes towards the ocean pay mind to the puddles that you pass.  Just a drop of water can ripple into a wave.