Little Things Matter

Zig Ziglar
 The history of our country involves every generation looking for the "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow." Many of them looked for gold by digging in the hillsides and streams of America.

In 1848, John Marshall was panning for gold in the streams of California. One bright, sunlit day, while panning in Sutter's Creek, his eye caught a glitter -- and the gold rush of 1849 was on. Many people came to California, discovered gold and made their fortune, while others struck it rich by providing mining equipment, food, shelter, clothing, and so on, for the miners at exorbitant prices, so they found their gold in the pockets of those who had dug it up. The gold rush had a significant impact on the population of California and hastened the settling of our country.

In the late 1880s, in an isolated, abandoned mineshaft about an hour's drive from where the gold had been discovered, the body of a derelict miner was found. It was John Marshall, the man who had discovered the gold but neglected to file his own claim. Message: Life has much to offer, but we must file our claim.

Many of us know someone who neglected some little thing and ended up with the short end of the stick. Little things make a huge difference in life. Sometimes, a life is saved because the rescuer arrived in the nick of time. In a flash flood in California, two young men were pulled from a raging river by rescuers who, with the aid of a helicopter, lifted them out of the water. One of the rescuers said, "Had we been 30 seconds later, they would have lost their lives." In many instances, had the police arrived at a scene two minutes later, rape and possibly murder would have occurred. In other cases, we've seen where rescuers arrived a moment or two too late and lives were lost.

However, the little things I'm talking about are not quite that traumatic, and yet, in many ways, have tremendous importance. The definition of "little" in my 1828 Noah Webster Dictionary simply says that it is "small in size or extent, not great or large. Short in duration, as a little time, a little sleep. Slight; inconsiderable; not much." Now, tie the word "little" to "kindness," and we see its significance. In the Bible, Ephesians 4:32, we read, "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other." "Kind" or "kindness" means "favorable; attractive; disposed to do good to others, and to make them happy by granting their requests, supplying their wants, or assisting them in distress." Take the definition of "little" and apply the word "kind" or "kindness" to it, and we can see that a little kindness goes a long way toward encouraging people, building winning relationships, and giving them hope and inspiration in their daily lives.

Yes, little things can make a huge difference. If you're only three minutes late for a flight, the three minutes is not much; but if the plane has left the ground, it could have serious repercussions on your travel schedule.

Wilhelm Reiss, a German inventor, perfected a device for transmitting sound over wires. Had he moved two electrodes just one one-thousandth of an inch, they would have touched each other, and he would have been the inventor of the telephone. That little bit of distance made all of the difference!

Most of us need a little hope and encouragement every day, and I believe a "National Kindness Day" to encourage everyone to speak with kindness to those we meet would help. Doing that for just one day could jump-start us to make it a part of our lives, which could encourage others to do the same thing. Give it a try. You'll be delighted with the results!