Yvette Nicole Brown on Not Sweating the Small Stuff

Last weekend I went to one of those fancy-schmancy super healthy grocery stores that had an underground parking structure because it was so popular. After a small group of us got on the elevator we realized we were going down instead of up. I, along with the lady next to me, gasped and audibly said something like “Great!” or “How could this be happening?!” I’m giggling to myself now because whatever we said, it was such a ridiculous reaction to a minor inconvenience. While we were mid-freak out at the injustice of it all, the man closest to the door looked at us both and simply said, “It’s okay. It really is.” He said it with no judgment or ridicule, though we deserved both. It was just a true statement, said by a calm, sane human being who had assessed the “tragedy” and deemed all to be well. I laughed at myself and thanked him for bringing perspective to foolishness and went on my way. But what he said stayed with me.

I like to think I’m a “go with the flow” kinda chick. But lately I’m realizing that there are some things I believe should just be easy or easier. Like, I shouldn’t have to sit in traffic or wait for an elevator. In my assessment of life, things should just be smooth. When they’re not, I get annoyed. Where this sense of entitlement came from I do not know. But that man’s comment on the elevator brought it to the forefront, now I’m on the hunt to root it out. One of my favorite phrases to throw around is “Time and chance happen to us all.” It’s sort of the “to each life some rain must fall” of Bible verses. It makes it clear we’re all gonna be up sometimes and yes, down, too. I like that. It’s the great equalizer. I like knowing that as special as we all are, none of us is special.

How often do minor grievances, misunderstandings and annoyances mar an otherwise great day… or elevator ride? Life can be annoying. It’s full of work, chores and other necessary little bits of duty that can catch you off guard and make you lose sight of the basic truth that “It’s okay. It really is.”

There’s another verse I love. It simple says, “Count it all joy.” Even life’s hard times birth in us beautiful things like patience, long-suffering, faith and renewed hope.  Today it may be a small annoyance like an elevator ride in the wrong direction, tomorrow it might be the loss of a job or loved one. This life, is a marathon. Difficulties, even tiny ones, prepare us for that race. Run your race with strength and integrity. And when you hit a bump on the road, repeat to yourself, “It’s okay. It really is.”

Be blessed! ☺
Yvette Nicole Brown (@YvetteNBrown)