See the BIG picture (and drink more coffee)

I had to give some tough love to a regular and myself this week over quad-shot lattes (that’s fancy talk for too much espresso).

J has his life wrapped up in the minutia. He can find the bad in any and every situation, and it’s simply because he is far too in love with those devil details to ever take a deep breath and look at the big picture. He perseverates over things that have little bearing on happiness, friendship, teamwork, love… to the detriment, I’m afraid, of all those things. I’ve made it my duty in life to help him become a big picture person, to focus on the “where I want to be” instead of the “there’s too much in my way for me to get there.”

I had to remind myself of my big picture thinking a few days ago when I had a day. You know what I mean- a day. Nothing went well. I argued with a friend. Business was unusually slow. I got rear-ended. There was a bird in my house when I got home. I had to drive to Pennsylvania for a Little League game. A DAY. You’ve had one.

But instead of getting caught up in the little details of everything that was wrong with my DAY, I started thinking about everything that was right.

The argument ended, the air was cleared and we have a new understanding about some important issues.

I own and spend my days in the world’s coolest coffee shop.

The guy who smashed into me turned out to be really nice. We shook hands when it was over. He’s fixing my car.

My two sons and I had a great time trying to catch the bird. We laughed and we worked together to take the Starling safely outside and let it fly away free.

My son had a great baseball game. He was on base four times. Nothing beats the smile of an eight year old with a feeling of deep accomplishment.

Life is good, if you look at the BIG picture.