Little Great Things

Written by Wendi Kelly - March 26, 2010 15 Comments
Rice Candy
Photo courtesy of Allison Day

We can not do great things. We can only do little things with great love.
Mother Teresa

Monday was turning out to be one of those days. You know the ones I mean. Mondays are famous for them. The kind of day that no matter hard you told yourself you were going to “Go out and make it a GREAT DAY” The universe seemed to have something else in store.

The To Do List kept adding things to its bottom faster then I could scratch things off of its top.   I somehow made the foolish mistake of beginning the week out of coffee.  On top of that, every time I started a project or task I seemed for one reason or another to get distracted or pulled into something else.

By mid-day I looked around to see a scattered array of both personal and business tasks in various states of completion all demanding my attention at once. My level of frustration was growing, my level of creativity was dropping  and commitment to Live Inspired was faltering.

“Forget it” I said to Deb. “I give up. I am useless today. I can’t seem to do anything right.”

Deb was quick with the encouragement, but even so, I had drilled myself pretty far down into the doldrums.

Then the mail came.

And in the mail a little tiny white box  full of fun.

Just for me.  From my darling wonderful friend Allison.

Not diamonds, not pearls, not superman to fix my struggling day, it was a small box of rice candy.  Something she thought I might like to try, something she thought might brighten my day.

It did. Instantly.

My perspective changed. A smile broke out on my face. I popped one tiny orange papery candy right in my mouth and laughed as the strange paper melted in my mouth. I sucked on the new sweet experience, letting it melt down on my tongue as I marveled at my delightful friend who takes the time to bless her friends with these little tokens of her affection and love.

Because you see, I know I’m not the only one.

It’s just the way she is. She sends cookies. Or candy. Or maybe a note.  Or tokens of care to people she thinks of to bless. She is a bearer of little bits of joy that she mails all over the world that make big splashes of love and happiness everywhere they land.

And does little things with great love, just like Mother Teresa said.

Allison inspires me.  She reminds me that its the little moments that encourage us. That encourage each other. She reminds me that I too can take just a few moments out of my day to think of others, send them a card, a token of love, an e-mail, a smile. A hug.

That little box of Rice Candy has sat on my desk brightening my entire week.  I may keep the colorful box even when the last sweet candy is gone. As a reminder.

It’s the little things we do that spread the most love.

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Read the Comments

15 Outstanding Responses to "Little Great Things"

    Friar on March 26, 2010 at 9:59 pm • Permalink

    Allison sent me cookies over a year ago..twice. Just like that, out of the blue. I still havent’ forgotten.

    Deb Dorchak on March 26, 2010 at 10:03 pm • Permalink

    Surprise cookie deliveries are the BEST. You want food for the soul? That would be it. A bizillion tweets about finding perfection and having the perfect life are nowhere NEAR equal to an Allison Care Package!

    Allison Day on March 27, 2010 at 12:58 pm • Permalink

    You guys are so sweet, thank you. Wendi, there were tears in my eyes as I read this. I always hope that my random little packages serve to brighten peoples’ days, so something like this is really great to hear. :)

    Friar and Deb, you have no idea how happy your comments make me. It’s really nice to know that the time and effort I put into baking all those cookies does mean something (not that I didn’t know that before, but it’s nice to hear it again ;) ). And you never know when there could be another package of cookies on the way… erm… when I actually can find some free time to bake among this avalanche of work, that is. :D

    James Chartrand - Men with Pens on March 27, 2010 at 4:18 pm • Permalink

    Gingersnaps. She made me gingersnaps, twice, and I haven’t forgotten that thoughtfulness. It was touching. I also have a sushi kit starting me in the face next to my morning coffee, and the funny thing is that it makes me smile – I imagine what Allison would say if she knew what a wuss I was being about it.

    Maybe one day she’ll tell me herself.
    .-= James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last post… Why Good Copywriting Goes Bad: You’re Not Stupid. You’re Just Ignorant. =-.

    Allison Day on March 27, 2010 at 4:40 pm • Permalink

    James – You STILL haven’t made sushi? *stern look* I didn’t send you the kit so it could just sit there and look pretty, you know. And I’m not even making you eat raw fish! AND I created a recipe just for you! Ahem.

    *crosses arms, raises an eyebrow, and taps a foot* Am I going to have to go over there and MAKE you do it? You know if you make me to go Canada, I’m going to make you eat sashimi. :D

    Next you’re going to tell me you’re not back on a horse yet. *another stern look* You have until October 8, 2011. (Betcha thought I forgot about that, didn’t you. Nope, you’re not getting off that easy… ;) )

    James Chartrand - Men with Pens on March 27, 2010 at 5:08 pm • Permalink

    My door’s always open to those with good intentions, so if you’re going to cook for me, I think that counts :)

    And DAMMIT! I can’t believe you haven’t forgotten yet… you have it on a calendar, DON’T YOU! *mutters*
    .-= James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last post… Why Good Copywriting Goes Bad: You’re Not Stupid. You’re Just Ignorant. =-.

    Allison Day on March 27, 2010 at 6:21 pm • Permalink

    Cook for you? Pfft. No. I teach you… then YOU make the sushi. That’s the entire point, you know. :D

    *cough* I plead the 5th… you have 18 months left… ;)

    Wendi Kelly on March 27, 2010 at 6:31 pm • Permalink

    OK…I want to know who is making Allison too busy to make cookies???!!!!! That is unacceptable.

    *Looks around…*

    Oh…never mind.

    Allison,

    I doubt you have any idea how truly big your impact is on the people you know. You are a blessing. The cookies and candy….that’s extra. :)

    Friar,

    I don’t think any of can ever forget the way she makes us feel. You know, the rotten days fade, the bad moods come a go, but those little great things…they last forever.

    James,

    I have my special sushi package too. :) And I made sushi with mine. Might have been better if I hadn’t, it was the stickiest gooiest rice mess I have ever seen. And believe me, when I rolled it all up it did NOT look anything like Sushi Girl’s beautiful pictures. It spilled out on the sides, dripped and oozed,fell apart and looked like something my dog’s were afraid to eat. But, it tasted good. :)

    I think I need a LOT of practice. Think I can talk her into coming to Chicago on the way to Canada?

    Deb Dorchak on March 27, 2010 at 6:50 pm • Permalink

    @Wendi: Not unless she comes to Vegas first. I might just hold her hostage. I know she was tempted to learn how to grill. ;)

    Allison Day on March 28, 2010 at 10:58 pm • Permalink

    Wendi – Hehe, not that I’m complaining…

    And thank you. It makes it so, so very much worth it to hear that. :)

    Also, hey! No scaring people away! (Really James, sushi isn’t that hard! You can do it, I promise! *squints suspiciously at Wendi* ;) ) Hehe, when I get my hands on you Wendi… I’ll be happy to roll some sushi with you. :D

    Deb – Not just tempted, my dear. You ARE teaching me one of these days. :D

    Hm… Vegas, Chicago, Canada… “Sushi Across North America”… sounds like my kind of road trip. :D

    Deb Dorchak on March 28, 2010 at 11:24 pm • Permalink

    @Allison: You need to get a t-shirt for the “2010 Sushiday Tour”

    Marc on March 30, 2010 at 8:59 am • Permalink

    @Wendi, @James, @friar

    Nothing in the way of food for me, but I did get a groovy sushiday t-shirt and Allison also sent me a Christmas card, complete with a personal message :)

    @Allison
    What can I say? You’re sweet, you’re thoughtful and you have a great sense of humour. Don’t ever stop being you.

    Oh, and when you are finished in Chicago and Canada, hop on a plane to Wales. I’d come to you, but we both know where I would end up ;)

    James Chartrand - Men with Pens on March 30, 2010 at 9:02 am • Permalink

    @Wendi/Allison/Marc – I agree. We need to get people doing some serious traveling to great places. They may never want to go home, which is just good for me because I’ll be well fed – I think it’ll take Allison several tries at teaching me before I get how it’s properly done :)
    .-= James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last post… Five Tips Before You Hire a Consultant =-.

    Allison Day on March 30, 2010 at 12:56 pm • Permalink

    Deb – HAH! That would be awesome. Want to design them for me? :D

    Marc – Ah, yes… Mexico *is* a little out of the way if I’m going up to the chilly north… though I suppose I *could* swing by Tijuana on the way back… ;)

    Thank you. :) I intend to continue being me as long as I live. :D

    James – Hey. No kidnapping the Sushi Girl. ;) But seriously, that would be awesome. Sushi business trip! That would be so much fun – traveling around, visiting fantastically cool people, spreading sushi-love wherever I go… if I had the time/money to do something like that, I’ll bet it would be so much fun. :D

    And isn’t that the whole point of teaching – having the student practice and learn from their mistakes, until they get it right? :)

    Although actually, I do know other food bloggers who have done things like that: travel to other cities and hold workshops… hm… it certainly is a possibility, something to keep in mind and put on the back burners for the future…

    Too bad none of you live in Japan or Vietnam, or else I’d totally visit during my upcoming trips. :D

    Marc on March 30, 2010 at 1:01 pm • Permalink

    *Moves to Japan. Ends up in Mexico*

    What the-. Since when did the Japanese start wearing sombreros?