A little grace goes a long way

Off the topic of marketing (but still under the category of bright ideas) I thought I’d tell you about a Ning community I recently joined called Grace in Small Things, founded by Schmutzie, a prolific blogger, cat lover, needleworker, poet, photographer - an overall creative type - who lives with her husband in Canada.

I can imagine what you’re thinking - not another social network. I know, I thought the same thing, but I’d been a fan of the concept for a while (the tag line grabbed me right away, “Waging a battle against embitterment since 2008” – love that) and so I finally decided to pull the trigger.

Grace in Small Things is about identifying five small, graceful things every day. It’s about choosing not to allow the noisiness of life to rob you of the time and energy to be mindful of yourself and those you love and to recognize the grace that exists in small things.

While I feel I subscribe to this way of thinking in general, writing it down - actually publishing it for the world – has given it more teeth. It’s held me more accountable for sure, but more importantly it’s providing a ritual, reinforcing ‘best practice’ behavior to consistently appreciate life. Admittedly I’m a little lax with daily publishing, but I notice that I’m noticing the small things more. I’m searching for the good stuff, actively LOOKING for those five things. And I like it.

I have a salesman friend who likes to say ‘shavings make a pile’ and that’s how I think of Grace in Small Things. A little grace here, a little grace there. Eventually, all that grace adds up to something big.