Hidden Gems: A Closer Look

I had a delightful opportunity to spend from Thursday evening until Friday afternoon with two good friends of mine. As is the case when most guys get together there were lots of video games involved, maybe even 10 hours of them. I used to be decent at video games, but it is now unquestionable to me that I am terrible. I spent roughly five hours as nothing more than a moving target for both of them. I don't want anyone to think that I am complaining because, despite my inadequacies, I had a great time . Besides, getting owned in video games only serves as a segue to the actual subject of my post.

In what is becoming my usual fashion I submit to you, the reader, an instance of common occurrence that taught me something profound; an instance where I took a closer look and found a hidden gem.

If you will, cast your mind upon a style of pictures, photo mosaics, you see a big picture that is made up of tiny pictures that are arranged in such a manner that they work in harmony to produce the aforementioned big picture. If one were to only glance at a photo mosaic they would see a grainy version of the larger image...nothing more. However, if one were to stop and actual look and appreciate the photo they would realize the intricacies of the smaller images. This pattern is not only applicable to photo mosaics, but every facet of life. In essence, we need stop looking only at the big picture of life and appreciate the smaller ones, for the smaller ones are where meaning is found.

I discovered this hidden gem, this smaller image, from Thursday evening to Friday afternoon. My friend's house is modest and unassuming. In fact, if you were looking at the bigger picture of the whole street you wouldn't give it a second glance. Once I took a closer look I found myself smiling inwardly. My friend and his wife just had a baby just over two months ago and the baby is absolutely precious. It is as if all the world's goodness was contained in this little baby; hope, trust, courage, and simplicity were among the virtues contained in this little one. I am sure that everyone loves their babies, but these three seemed so beautiful in their modest and unassuming house. It was almost as if I were looking at a picture of perfect contentment. In their home there was happiness, there was love, and most importantly there was appreciation for both. I am not ignorant enough to assume their lives are perfect, but what I feel perfectly comfortable assuming is they don't let problems destroy happiness.

It was a fortuitous discovery that I shall not forget. It happened not because I was expecting it, for I was only there to play video games. It happened because I took a closer look. Perhaps if people took closer looks more often they would see hidden gems; they would discover the most valuable gems are not found buried in the earth, but found in the beauty of life's smaller images.

Might I be so bold to suggest an experiment of sorts. An experiment that we go back and re-read that poem or an article we read this past week or on the way to work we look at life's smaller images instead of the big picture. I am betting that we will see so many smaller images that our life will be richer than ever before. I am positive when we go back and re-read that poem or whatever we choose to do we will find a hidden gem that will change our view of that poem or whatever we did.