The pages that follow this publisher’s note are awe-inspiring. Many of them feature stories of women and men who have overcome insurmountable odds and prevailed dreadful situations when all they had left was grit. As I read each one, I marveled at the moxie of the mind and the strength of the human spirit.

In this day and age of Facebook frenzies, political piranha pools and shallow first-world problems, these stories are a wake-up call to stop dwelling in drama and put problems into perspective.

It was the middle of spring semester her freshmen year when I allowed my daughter to take her car to college, even though I wasn’t allowed to have my car freshman or sophomore years at that same college some 33 years earlier. I worked it out for her to park her car at our cousin’s home on John’s Island. She wasn’t taking it to drive daily. Her dorm was literally on campus. In the smidge of a walk she had to get to class, one couldn’t come close to finishing a Starbucks grande iced coffee skinny caramel macchiato with almond milk and extra whip because everything is right there…including the Starbucks.

Her selling points included things such as, “I can come home and help you more.” It was a compelling point, as Hurricane Matthew had destroyed the house five months earlier, and help was needed. “If I have my car in Charleston with me you don’t have to come pick me up for Easter.” Also a compelling point. A few more selling points combined with a perfectly delivered classic assumptive close had me saying yes. [I’m hoping she will major in business and go into sales.]

A smile is the shortest distance between two people.
— Victor Borge —

On August 8th, I received an email. Actually, I received many emails, but one stood out from the rest. One that wasn’t mundane, or administrative. One that proves our actions have lasting ripple effects, though we may not be aware they even existed.

You’ve seen a peaceful, circular ripple in the water caused by one little drop. We glance only long enough to take it in and let it go. If we stood there and watched longer, would it eventually make its way to shore? Does it ever stop? If so, what stops it?

You’ve heard it a million times: Don’t sweat the small stuff. That’s very easy to say, but sometimes, the small stuff feels like big stuff. The key is to try to keep things in perspective.  A traffic jam is small stuff. A traffic jam when you need to badly go tinkle and are at a stand still with no exit in sight is a bit more dire. A traffic jam when it snows, and you’re stuck in your car on the freeway for more than 24 hours and your children are at daycare and you are a single mom with no relatives in town (Hello, Atlanta!) is no longer small stuff—enter some well-deserved sweat. See how perspective changes everything?

At a concert recently in upstate New York, I not only enjoyed the music, I also was fully intrigued by watching people. As the main act—meaning the best band—started winding down their playlist, droves of people began to leave. This is when it dawned on me what people are willing to miss out on over small stuff. They were leaving in order to avoid traffic getting out of the parking lot. But here’s what they missed: The absolute best song of the night! It’s ALWAYS the encore. Haven’t they ever heard “save the best for last?” It’s the reason everyone goes to the concert. And. They. Just. Left.

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
— Mark Twain—

I was driving through a busy, tourist-filled parking lot when it happened. A man pulled out right in front of me. I quickly slammed the brakes to avoid a collision, but still ended up so close, I could clearly make out his facial expression. I saw him mouthing something and immediately thought, “What a jerk.” As he pulled around me, he rolled down his window and stopped. “I am so sorry,” he said, sincerely. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” I responded and smiled.