the smallest gifts



danish santa

The smallest things in life can give the most pleasure.  We race through life, busy with our daily routine, caught up in the race to take care of everyday things, especially at this time of year.  This is the case with me, I am not immune to the routine of things I have to do every day to get through the day, or work toward a future goal.  But occasionally something happens to slow me down for a bit, and make me more introspective about the really important things in life.

I belong to an art community of women online, brought there by a friend who has a love of art and creating like I do.  For months I sat and watched the interaction among the members, not really sure how to join in and participate.  I uploaded some of my artwork, and linked some of my blogs to the site, but I felt more like an observer than a member, even though I had been welcomed warmly by some of the lead members in the community.


my santa imposters

Then about 4 or 5 weeks ago I found my niche.  My jumping in spot.  One group had posted an invitation to swap Santa and Angel ATCs.  ATC stands for artist trading cards, for those of you who are not familiar with the acronym.  I love ATCs and anything small and thought it would be fun to participate, so I added my name to the list.  And even got my ATCs finished early, a real first for me.  The list was made, the cards sent, and we all waited. 


danish angel

 My cards arrived from Denmark a week or more ago.  They were lovely, and so artistic.  It was fun to see what someone had created from so far away and sent to me.  But my cards, sent to a place in the USA, didn't arrive.  And didn't arrive.  I was starting to get worried they wouldn't arrive before Christmas.



the angel i made



Then today it happened.  The person I sent the cards to let me know on the group thread they had arrived.  And let me know how she enjoyed them.

And that was when I stopped.  To savor the small things.  I looked at my  ATCs from Denmark again, and thought of my two new friends, the one in Denmark who sent my cards, and the one here in Illinois who received the cards I made.  How our hands had created these cards or opened the envelopes that held these cards.

But most of all I felt the pleasure, and the gratitude of knowing we had all shared something both tangible and intangible.  And that the smallest of things are sometimes the gifts that are truly priceless.

Savor the small things when they happen.  They are some of life's greatest gifts.