Have you ever felt socially insecure when something is said with a brashness and bravado that goes against everything you know deep inside of you is wrong, but you can't find the perfect response within you that would put the world right again? If you are like me, the perfect reply or action comes hours or days later when the moment is past and the power and sting of pin point truthfulness is moot. Right or wrong, timing and context rule the world, like location location location rules real estate.

Wouldn't it be great to have a phrase or aphorism that would universally work instantly for any occasion, short of having the world's greatest authority suddenly appear out of thin air and support you?

There is no aphorism, religious teaching or smart remark that works for every situation. In fact whenever I hear "what ever doesn't kill you makes you stronger", I cringe. The last person who said that to me, slowly weakened from kidney failure and died. Or how about that old phrase, "don't sweat the small stuff"? If you think about it, EVERYTHING important is the small stuff.

Small stuff, like the human egg and sperm, is too small to be seen with the most perfect human eyes. The codes to assemble the proteins that are you, are smaller still. The small stuff is what beautifies and connects one moment in our life to the next. It is the small stuff that we can effect in real and mysterious ways. It is our only domain that we somehow have a degree of control. The big stuff, like a mega super nova gamma ray burster headed this way at the speed of light, is out of our hands.
Maybe we should say, "Don't sweat the big stuff!"

What I really mean to say is that the small beauties in the world and in our personal lives is what really counts. Take for example a driver who balances speed, inertia and traction for a curve so perfectly that it feels exhilarating. It doesn't matter if they were driving a formula one, McClaren or a Dodge Minivan. The small stuff is as weightless as an idea that could change and beautify a living planet. It could even be small stuff like hygiene, or the perfect wipe with only four sheets. The small stuff is both the weakest link and the foundation of our lives.

We all know the tale about small stuff going wrong for the lack of a nail. Like those mornings when a broken shoe lace or an impossible button can define an entire day. It feels like, the best love, the most wonderful music, the most hair raising story, are all the result of a mastery of the small stuff. The guitar chord that rings truest, descending stairs like a dance, the perfect placement of a table, the ingredients and timing of delicious food, the compliment that makes someone so happy the joy is passed on with infinite possibilities.

The small stuff lives in the most hidden cracks in our lives in which everything important emerges. So here is a toast to the small stuff, "may everything small in your life be as beautiful as possible".   Happy New Year.

By the way if you ever run into a situation when you are at a critical loss for words, you can easily refer to the small stuff since the angels and devils are always in the details. For myself, I am saving this one; "On the surface, great things and claims look real whether they are built from a trillion points of truth, or a trillion tiny lies. I would need to look closer at the true ratio in your claim." Or I could always say "thats fucked!"