The Little Things

   I was lucky enough to embark on a trip to Chiapas, Mexico this past week to do service and become educated on the lifestyles and struggles of the people. It was a trip I had been planning with a very close group of people that would become very dear friends. We have evolved into this universal, complex, similar, yet uniquely different group of people all at the same time. After earning a spot on the trip I immediately thought that I was in over my head to be traveling thousands of miles away into poverty-stricken land with people who had a lot more experience than I did. However, they instantly made me feel at home. Through all the meetings, retreats, and fundraising, we became closer. Yet, I like to believe that those were not the reasons we did so, rather I think it was the intimate sharing of emotion that we all have opened ourselves to. I have learned so much about the people in my Chiapas group that I do not even know about people close from home. For that reason, I could never be surprised at how amazing and supportive they were after the events that took place last month in our family. They all inevitably became my family too.

   After losing someone you care deeply for we immediately follow one of Elizabeth Kubler Ross' five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. I know I can at least apply one of those stages to a period in which I lost a loved one. Yet, after the events in Newtown and losing someone in our family I did not and still do not know what stage any of us fall under because what happened simply cannot be explained. For this reason and during this difficult time, I decided to dedicate my service trip to Mexico in honor of the Newtown families and to the woman I called family, Anne. 

   The journey was difficult, complicated, and uplifting in a very sensitive country. What I found significant is that life is fleeting in every part of the world. But more importantly, life is special because others and I recognize the humanity that we all share and the emotions that draw us toward one another. I will admit that I focus too much on the larger picture, the future, the anxiety of my career, marriage, judgment, and failure. And because of it, I have been distracted at certain times. 

   After this trip, journaling, and coming home, I have come to believe that the little things really do matter simply because they are the moments we will remember. The little things are what people give a shit to hear about, sure, the big events matter too but the small, discreet hiccups that take your breath away are the ones worth remembering and talking about. So I have decided to open a blog that publishes some of my journal reflections on the trip and to simply share with all of you, some of the little moments I encounter in my life. It seems that they are always so much more intriguing than life’s other boring nonsense. Plus, it's nice just to reflect and remember, even if just for a little while.

   So thank you to all who follow me on this adventure, to test the goals I have coming back from my trip, to enjoy some of the little things in life I find touching, but most importantly, to listen to me as my family and I struggle to find a way to move on.

   So hit me up and let me know of your little moments too. The greatest journeys are the ones we share. Here is to a better tomorrow.

-M