Don't Sweat the Little Things

I was investing a bit of time, wasting a bit of time the other day and I came across this picture..

It's a picture from 1864, at the time of the American Civil War.  In a somewhat contradictory manner, the group has been referred to as 'The Gents' and 'The Motley Crew.'  Despite my best efforts, I've not been able to find out whether they fought for the North, the 'Union,' or for the South, the 'Confederacy.'  If anyone can help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it; I don't like gaps in facts or knowledge, especially regarding such an important, central point in a country's heritage and history.  Answers on a postcard.....

Onwards...  The picture really got me thinking.  Aye, aye, shock, thinking again.  Where in the blue hell could this be aiming?  Well, it sort of carries on from the expectations ideas some of my other posts, conveniently found directly below this one.  This time, however, I'm moving onto keeping things in perspective, keeping one foot in reality.  This time I'm talking about not sweating the little things.  This is turn helps, me at least, to keep my expectations realistic.  The photo above is the motivation.

Alrighty then, set?  So this photo was taken 149 years ago.  It records, forever, the moment 14 men sat down for at least 5 seconds (roughly the time required for a photograph exposure at the time) to claim their place in history.  I didn't take GCSE history; I dropped it just before the first lesson, didn't like the teacher.  Bad example, bad example, I know.  Despite this, however, I've always enjoyed old, interesting things.  Eventually I intend to become old and interesting myself, inevitable as it may be.  I like thinking about how mad it is that things were so massively different then.  Argghh, back to the photo.  As I was saying, these 14 blokes sat down and took their place in history.  Irrespective of their political beliefs, irrespective of the side on which they fought, they were there.  I'm going to make a few leaps and assumptions in a minute, but for now, just the facts.  They all sat down, together, right there and looked at the camera down whose lens we are now seeing them, albeit in black and white as opposed to colour.

I'd say they are aged roughly between early 20s and early 50s, as a ballpark estimate.  There are no guns in sight, but it's a fairly safe bet to say that firearms were by no means unusual or uncommon to any of them.  Admittedly we're into the assumptions now, but it wouldn't be too much of a leap to say that they all probably had experience of death in some way, shape or form.  And I'm not referring to their own.  They will all have had conversations, they will all have had arguments.  They will all have had relationships.  They will all have been happy, sad, excited and scared at one time or other.  Quite possibly, at least some of them may well have met with violent deaths.  Back to the facts; they were all there, and now they're all not there.  Whatever happened to them happened.  The war was fought and won and lost.  They left the scene of the photograph, went off into the rest of their lives and eventually left the world altogether.  Agreed with most of that?

Fast forward 149 years and now I'm sat here, you're sat there and we're both considering a photograph of some long-gone band of gentlemen.  What's the relevance?  Well, it's simple really.  They were somewhere, they did what they did, whatever that was, and now they're not.  Instead it's you and I sat here for the moment, soon to log off, stand up and proceed to do whatever it is exactly that we do.  Neither of us will be around forever.  Far from, it we're not really around very long at all.  In 149 years from now, some other people will be sat around somewhere, momentarily breaking away from 'life' to have a photograph taken (will cameras exist as such?!), to write a blog, to read a blog, to communicate, to think, to place a tiny little footnote in history.  Maybe they'll be reading this blog.....Check the ego, check the ego, unlikely I know..  

Here's the point I'm trying to make in a roundabout way; we haven't got much time to spare, we haven't got forever, and pretty soon the world will shift on again.  So we may as well try to make the most of things.  We may as well try to look on the bright side and not let every little set back start to bring the walls crashing down.  Unnecessary.  Seriously, little things are little things, and an argument, a grumpy, tired day, missing out on a job, a test result, a flight, a bet, you name it, they don't need to define us.  Nor do they need to be overplayed, or bigged up.  Things go wrong.  Things go right.  Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.  Don't dwell on it.  Accept it.  Do your best.  Can't really do much more than that can you?

The road we're all walking down has the same end point.  Just like the 14 in the photo, just like you, just like me, just like whoever it is doing whatever they're going to be doing 149 years from.  Choose how you want to walk down it.  Fancy staring at your feet, shuffling, stumbling and moaning with a dirty great frown or scowl on your face?  Fancy being bitter and angry at everyone and everything?  Or fancy confidently striding down it taking in all of the sights, sounds and experiences there are out there, making your own luck, dragging people along with your, believing in doing the best damn job you can and making the absolute most of the journey?  Easiest decision in the whole world if you ask me..

Don't sweat the little things.  That's all they are.  You can choose how you walk through life.  Believe.  

Always, always believe.