Little things

What seems inconsequential when we do it may create great ripples.

This page is full of small marks that go to make up the whole. It came about after we received a message this week. About ten years ago we were living in Lewes, East Sussex. We made some friends there who were over from the US to study for a couple of years. We did the usual things of drinking coffee together and bonding over food. Just the usual stuff that you don't really think about.

They have returned to the US, we have lived in Australia for over eight years and now returned to the UK, but all through our respective travels we have kept in touch.

Fast forward to now. My husband saw an item that he wanted but was only available in the US. He contacted our friends and asked if it would be possible to get one and post it over. We would reciprocate with something they wanted or reimburse them, whichever was best for them. Said item arrived, and when we contacted our friends about paying them, they said they wanted to gift it to us. They mentioned our friendship when they were far from home, and a specific instance (which we had forgotten) when we fed them and looked after them after a particularly tough day.

Those things that seem inconsequential at the time can create ripples. They seem small or ordinary to us, but to those on the receiving end they are much more. Small acts of kindness are never wasted.

And of course, the same applies to mean acts. The ripples they cause can be devastating. So watch your behaviour in the small things as well as the large.