Martial Arts for the 21st Century

The Little Things

Recently, in conjunction with an Obon festival, I visited a Buddhist church in a small town on the Idaho/Oregon border. The summers in that area are very hot and the unshaded doors of the church were facing directly west. In consideration for any members who chose to visit the church in the heat of the day the handles to the front doors were loosely wrapped in soft cloth. The rest of the year the handles were left bare.

When I inspected the wrappings closer I realized the small ropes holding the coverings in place were hand woven. Protecting the church members from burning their hands was one thing, but to take the time and care to weave the required ropes spoke so eloquently of how little things, little details, can make such a difference. Especially when the small details will probably go unnoticed.

I'm now trying to pay more attention to the little things. Those things that would skitter by my focus if I was viewing the 'big picture'. In the martial arts it's the slight bend in the wrist, the subtle change in the rhythm of someone's breathing or the pitch of the sound of the snapping gi.

In the off-the-mat world it's the downcast gaze of the harried mother as she counts out her food stamps, the contented laughter of a child being tickled by the parent, or the hand-woven rope on the sun soaked door handle.

The little things will, I think, enrich ones life experience far more than the grandiose.