It is the little things that matter the most. Unfortunately, our culture continues to be more and more obsessed with what is bigger, brighter, more elaborate, more complicated, so on and so forth. Many of us fail to recognize just how impactful very small things truly are. For example, with all of the talk about the H1N1, “swine flu,” in recent months, we tend to forget that the culprit is not able to be seen with the naked eye! A virus, microscopic in size, has the power to wreak havoc on a fully grown human being, or even a town full of grown human beings. Small things can also bring us peace, as in watching a baby humming bird hover over a flower or feeder. (This is something that I had the pleasure of doing earlier this month for the very first time. I thought, at first, that I was watching a very large wasp only to realize that it was a baby humming bird!)

Thousand page books are often not as meaningful as smaller collections of words, like the shortest verse in the Bible for example. The point of all of this is this: if we are not very careful, we will be easily caught up in the hype surrounding something big and we will forget that the small things often matter the most. Engineers understand this and therefore spend a great deal of time preparing the smallest details of the foundation of a skyscraper, which is usually not seen, long before the process of building skyward. That same process, building the foundation first, is true when building relationships. As you work with clients, please do not forget how important the small things truly are. Kind, encouraging words are of utmost importance. An occasional smile, handshake, and choosing to keep your cool in the face of enormous frustration are very small gestures that will go a very long way.  As we focus on accessing resources that will mean “big” things for the client, the state, your agency, and this project, it is imperative that we do not lose sight of the fact that the resource can only be accessed once a relationship with the client exists. Reach out to our leadership and field management staff if we are ever able to help you as you build relationships with your clients, one small step at a time.

Blessings,

Stephen P Carr II, MA, MFT
Program Director
Mississippi Case Management Consortium
www.mc-mc.org