Never Underestimate the Power of Small

E227: If you are feeling small, unseen or insignificant, find the others.

My arms are a little achy today. Working alongside my daughter, we shoveled out after a recent snowstorm dumped about a foot of snow (~30cm). It came on the heels of a great conversation on humanity, impact and community with Zaheer Merali. There is something about a hefty physical task after a conversation like that — it focuses the mind and make the invisible visible!

Small things accumulate

Here is the thing: as it drifts down, an individual snowflake is almost weightless, so delicate and light it’s almost invisible. How, then, does it feel so heavy as we scoop shovel after shovel? Real weight, built from a collection of weightless things.

A storm like this reminds me that:

• We may not be able to make a difference by ourselves, but when we share common ideas and goals with others, we can make a hefty impact.

• Compounding small actions - habits, pennies, ideas - can create big changes.

• Even the smallest actions can become significant.

It also brought back the nostalgia of that old “snow day” abandon - before Covid and remote work. You’d wake up to the silence of a world cocooned in a duvet of white. Then the joyful sound of a neighbourhood of kids, tobogganing together till their eyebrows iced over. Warming up after with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Finally, cozying up with my kids after, in front of the TV.

A neighbourhood on pause, together.

Today, I still have the camaraderie of digging out with my daughter, and neighbours meeting outside as we shovel in tandem. And a steamy cup of mushroom soup. Communities gathering, working together and supporting each other … heirloom skills.

Your turn “}…{`

• Will you reach out this week and start a conversation with someone who has been feeling invisible?

• Can you support someone’s project, editing or writing this week?

• Tag someone in the comments that you’d like to “shovel” alongside as you explore an idea together.

Conversations with each of you inspire me! I am really grateful to be able to bounce ideas off a number of friends last week. Your advice and ideas were so valuable. I had great discussions with Linart Seprioto , Mohammad Khan Tobin Smith -Best Self Yet , Latham Turner, Will Mannon and Dan Sleeman. DM me or select a slot on my calendar.

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Welcome to Zaheer Merali and all the new members of Tribe Tilt! You have self-selected into this powerful, wonderful group.

Tribe Tilt is a little like a snow bank. We believe that together we can make a difference to the people and places that are precious to us.

Stay healthy. From there, all else becomes possible.

I’ll see you again next week …

In case you didn’t read it in 2022, here is the post that inspired the image above:

PS. My AI chatbot keeps hiccuping on these characters “}…{` . Long before I had language for community, I tried to draw it, playing with these punctuation marks/stick figures. I first flexed my creative muscle looking for a possible logo for my blog and podcast. The characters “}…{` are supposed to depict two people in conversation with each other.