Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Defying Gravity

I have not been able to stop singing "Defying Gravity" since seeing Wicked on Saturday. (Seriously. You should ask my family - I'm sure they'd roll their eyes and agree that it's a constant refrain in our house and on road trips.) It's the ultimate song for me right now. The musical, as I believe I've mentioned before, inspires me to go out and change the world. And as you all know, I'm quite eager to find my place at a non-profit where I can lead and...you know....really make a difference.

But I realized today that it's a mistake for me to think that I must do great and obvious things to make a difference, when the truth is that I'm supposed to do the small, tiny things. That's the only way to build a solid future. It's like geometric fractals in nature...(just bear with me for a little bit longer - I really do have a point)...God's world is full of these incredibly beautiful, seemingly complex creations - but when you break each piece down into its smaller components, you realize that the larger tree (or blood vessel, or fern leaf, or mountain) is just a repetition of the pattern that is happening on a MUCH SMALLER SCALE. It really is a beautiful mathematical theory, as evidenced by the fact that it's the only mathematical theory I really understand.

As I was watching the Nova special on fractals tonight with my family (you knew this didn't just come out of left field, didn't you?) - I realized that the same theory holds sway in my life. I am reaching for the mountain top, looking for the big battle that I'm supposed to fight or the big accomplishment. But...big accomplishments are made up of little bitty tiny ones.

So, although I want to defy gravity in a big way by helping a million people, the reality is that each month (and each week, each day, each hour) there are little "fractal" opportunities for me to defy gravity.

Instead of thinking that "some day" I'll fly....I need to realize that I am flying right now, as long as I value these little pieces of life.

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