Experience Small

If you have been reading my posts but have never practiced seeing small, you are missing out on a simple and straightforward way of reducing your stress and bringing serenity and joy into your life. It’s one thing to think that what I’m saying about small makes sense; it’s another to experience its real power.

Last week, I gave a talk at the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library. After reviewing my experience of discovering small, and reading from my book, I passed around a photograph of a bouquet of mums.

Everybody admired the photo and found the flowers lovely. Nothing surprising about this.

Next, I passed around a close-up photo of one, single mum. I was hoping most people would respond more positively to the single mum than the bouquet, but was surprised at the intensity and variety of responses.

Everyone in the audience preferred the single flower. “I feel so much calmer looking at one flower than at a bouquet,” one person said.

“I feel so much more positive and non-judgmental,” another told us. “Looking at the bouquet, I automatically started trying to figure out which flower/s I found most beautiful. But with just one flower, there was no comparison. I could simply relax and enjoy everything I noticed about this single flower.”

“With the whole bouquet, I didn’t know quite where to look first,” a woman in the front row explained. “I felt so relieved when I had only a single flower to focus on.”

Moral of this story: Even good things become better when you see small.