When the little things did not light up my day

I walk every day the same path to work. What makes it different are the little things I see along the way, leaves and flowers fallen off trees, diligent ants, bits and pieces of things someone dropped unknowingly. I take photographs of these things I find and they become distorted versions of themselves, different lights, shapes, hues.  A sort of magic operates on them. The little things become great. 

Today, I could not find beauty in the little things along the path I walk everyday. Today, they did not manage to catch my eye, to uplift my spirit. They were there and I'm not saying I didn't see them. I did, but they did not glow, they did not stand out. Maybe it's because I see my country in a difficult situation, politicians and their dirty alliances preventing lives to grow into their full splendor. The stealing of public money, the closing of schools, of libraries, the threat to democratic institutions. People defending their own needs not thinking they can never survive alone. All very disappointing! 

And so you look at the world and you see the same, rich countries facing similar situations, their people defending the same "me first!" ideologies. Bad Joke Trump as a candidate to the presidency of the United States makes you wonder what sort of a dark age should the world prepare itself to face. Christians defending the right to use guns against the others and refusing to open the doors to Middle East refugees, families fleeing war zones, children included, our brothers and sisters in the true spirit of Christianism. Something is truly wrong with this world we live in. Bombing in Syria, terrorism in Paris and the brilliant solution to bomb everything further so there will be no more terrorism. We seem to never learn. 

So, today, the little things did not light up my day. They did not make me stop my slow pensive march to work to contemplate their beauty. They were there, but they did not shine out of the grayness of it all. They did not! Maybe it is because Christmas is coming up and I fail to see Christmas in the world. Maybe it's because "t'is the season to be jolly", but I don't feel jolly at all. It seems I'm hanging upside down, held by a really thin thread that might break at any moment and have me fall on my head.

But what is left for one to do, if not to start with the little things? Hope again for strength and hope to see the beauty in them tomorrow.  Work the beauty and the goodness of the world in the daily small activities, in the smiles to be shared, in the seriousness of  commitments, in the truthfulness of love. Hope to find beauty in the little things once more, to spread them, to choose the side of the weak even when walking among the strong, to be kind and true, to not hide behind accommodation. Recognize that some days you cannot be touched by the beauty of the little things, but never give up on them.