Doggedness – the word I chose to use as I watched the little sparrow.
Each morning, I begin my day with some yoga and quiet time. I do this in my office that looks out into my many trees. And when it is warm, I do this with the glass doors open so I can hear the birds welcoming the day.
I could hear the sound of a dried leaf scratching on the patio. I listened for the direction and then began to search for the location of the sound. It was actually right out in front of me under the patio table. A tiny, beautiful sparrow was giving that leaf the ‘what for.’ Do birds play, I thought to myself. He would shake it and then turn his little head as if trying to peer inside the curled up leaf.
After about 5 or 6 shakes, I saw a little black spot appear on the concrete beside the leaf. The sparrow quickly scooped it up with his beak and then hopped off to the next thing.
This little fellow was determined. Even though I couldn’t see what he was doing and I was trying to figure out his antics, he kept right on. I may have even been about to judge this little fellow. Fortunately for him, he was not aware of my analysis – and if he was, I’m certain he would not have been distracted by it.
I was impressed.
Nobody will call Jerry Seinfeld a sage, but the kid’s movie “Bee Movie” starts out with an explanation of why bees shouldn’t be able to fly: their wings are too small to lift their fat little bodies. But, the introduction goes on to conclude, bees fly anyway because they don’t care about what humans think is impossible.
The message in the movie is a nice compliment to your post: even the littlest job, done well, can have a huge impact. So, if you take the littlest job, pursue excellence with the same doggedness as your little sparrow, there’s no telling what kind of impact you can have on the world.
We are all interconnected. You and me and the people who read this post. We are interconnected in ways we comprehend and in ways we do not comprehend. Let the next guy pursue his goals doggedly, pursue your own goals doggedly, and the net result to the Universe might just be immeasurable. Or you just might be able to measure it by the satisfaction of getting that little bug out of the leaf.