(This is an excerpt from Chris’ third book titled ‘Living Large in Little Things’ – an inspirational collection book to be released in August this year.)
The firewood begun to burn. The flame started to fume. My face now feels the heat. “Your face could burn with this,” I whispered as I distanced my face a bit and sat down on the bangkito (a wooden stool) near the door.
Gazing through the dark outside and feeling the cold Kibungan breeze, thoughts on the ordinariness of life in the province flowed through the veins of my young mind. “Life here is simple and plain,” I muttered as I opened the pot painted with black coal and smoke to check if the slices of sayote (chayote) are already cooked.
Then I stopped and said, “Life here is simple, but it doesn’t have to be plain.” I argued, “In fact, life anywhere can be simple and it doesn’t have to be plain. Life can be simple and special… whether you are in the city or in the province.”
It dawned on me that while the environment plays a big role, a person can still make the decision and commitment to live a simple yet special life. That is to live large in little things.
Orly was telling me, “My folks always say that my life in the city is much better than theirs in the province.” He continued, “So I would say to them, you do not know how blessed you are here in the province. Your life here is better.”
Perhaps, Orly was right. And his folks, too.
Living in the city has its own perks but living in the province also has its benefits to offer. It is a matter of perspective. What one can do is to experience living both in the province and in the city to really see, feel, taste and touch how life goes in these two areas, environment or setting. A person may thrive better in one than in the other depending on his preferences, interests, and intelligence (in different domains).
Thus, the question is not, “Are you living in the city or in the province, in the boondocks or in busy streets?” The question is, “Are you living your life with love, joy and vibrancy – wherever you are?”
You can hear people – both of the city and those in the province – complain to their alleged plainness of life. They say, “Boring. Nothing special. Ordinary. Mundane. Simple. Sad.” They forgot to be bold in noticing the specialness in the ordinary or the mundane. They forgot that the simple can be special. They lost sense of the essence of living large in little things.
You and I need to be reminded that our life is not little or low, rather, our life can be large if we put in the specialness in the simple, the magnificence in the mundane, and the awesomeness in the ordinary. When we do so, we will live not a boring life but blissful life.
Living large in little things is not about getting complacent but being grateful. It is not about little dreams but it is about big dreams being realized in every small step taken every single day. It is not about settling with whatever that comes but it is about soaring high amidst humble beginnings. It is not about being fooled with crippling culture but it is about being fired up with the freeing core of good culture. It is about living and loving life. Both in large and little things.
Let’s journey together. Stay tuned. Enjoy. Savor. Relish. Love. And live life to the full!
(Chris Dao-anis/CPA, as an author and speaker, helps aspiring and young professionals become better communicators and leaders. His first book ‘The Gift of the Ordinary’ is available at Mt. Cloud Bookshop, Casa Vallejo, Upper Session Road, Baguio City and in Central Books in Cebu and Metro Manila. For other resources, visit www.chrispoweracademy.com. For talks, seminars, or speech coaching, email chrisdaoanis@gmail.com. Watch for the release of his third book!)