the power of the small
Yesterday I watched Serendipity for the, uh, 25th (low guess probably) time. For some reason, I always get sucked into the story line, and before I know it, the movie’s over. Well, yesterday, I think I figured out why that is. Superficially, the movie is about two people trying to find each other years after they spent some time together on one evening, and how fate arranges things to make that happen. On a whole other level, the movie serves as a great example of the inherent power of small things.
Before you think I’ve gone completely loopy (I realize it may be too late for that anyway), let’s look at the idea for a moment. In the movie, the action is precipitated by the two of them attempting to buy the same pair of gloves. After their interaction that night, certain phrases, actions, and places from that evening take on a new significance as they search for each other one last time years later, and those things are repeated or brought to mind. In the end, they finally meet, having been very tenacious and paying attention to the ’signs’ the universe was sending. (What did you expect? It is a romantic comedy, not a drama or romantic tragedy.)
I have at times experienced this phenomenom in my life as well: the decision to do something has led to something completely unexpected and taken my entire life in another direction. Such as the time I decided to go to a meeting and wound up meeting the woman who would be my second wife. It is often the little decisions we make that put us in the places we need to be in for good things to happen.
Albert Einstein said if a person spends just 15 minutes a day studying a particular subject, that person will become a genius in that area. Just 15 minutes. That may be a little off the mark, but at some level I believe he’s right. Imagine how much you could learn in 15 minutes. Now imagine that you learn that much everyday, that you develop a solid foundation. How much would that broaden your horizons?