We are the Sum of All the Small Things

A few days ago, I finally took steps to get rid of a few items in my house that reminded me of a memory and a person it was time to let go of.

Condiments in my refrigerator, a lone dollar bill behind a nightstand, and a calendar on the wall still frozen in 2019.

Each of these items on its own was insignificant at the moment it arrived in my life — on its own merits, meaningless. However, together they represented something much bigger. They were the individual moments that connected the dots of a significant memory.

The memories they created were the sums of all these small things in between.

Reflecting on this brought me back to another set of memories.

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In the summer of 2020, my niece and I were privileged to go on a life-changing hike around Mt. Rainier in Washington State. The Wonderland Trail was 10 days and 93 miles of breathtaking scenery, grueling ascents and descents — and about 210,000 individual footsteps from beginning to end.

There were moments on the trail when I was overflowing with joy. Others where I sat exhausted, covered in dirt and sweat — wondering how I would ever finish.

And even though I wanted to quit a thousand times a day — both time and my body kept moving forward. One footstep at a time.

After we finished our journey —we sat at my niece’s kitchen table excitedly telling the story of our adventure to her friends — highlighting all the most amazing (and terrifying) moments.

At one point, someone asked me what my favorite part of the hike was. After thinking about it I said, “all the small, seemingly insignificant steps in between.”

Though surprised with my answer at first, we dissected its meaning as a group. We concluded that the beauty and the pain of the hike were only possible with the sum of all the steps from one great moment to the next — the ones taken, yet immediately forgotten.

These forgotten moments were just as important as the ones remembered because the highs and lows could not be possible without all the connecting moments.

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We decided this concept was true for life, too. We often remember the biggest moments, however, all the insignificant moments are just as important.

Each moment is an individual bead on the string that connects the story of our lives. Some are shinier than the others, but all are needed to complete the story.

We spend so much time wishing the past was different or anticipating an upcoming event in the future that we too often miss the beautiful moments in between.

Thinking about this in-depth the last few days, I’ve discovered an overflowing joy in the most mundane activities. Sitting on my sofa sipping my morning coffee and listening to the world wake up around me. Listening to the silly conversations of my daughter and her best friend while driving them to cheer practice. Soaking in the way the sunlight breaks through the clouds in a way that makes me wonder if that is what heaven looks like.

By taking the time to notice each moment as I'm living it, I feel present. I feel appreciative. I feel alive.

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Have you ever taken the time to notice the small things? The menial moments? The space between seconds? There is joy there if you look for it. It is simple, yet it is abundant. These are the moments that make up your life.

Because, after all, we are the sum of all the small things.