Small Things Considered: The pleasure of staring at smallness

 

    Today I listened to "Small things Considered" part of the This American Life Podcast. And while listening to the podcast, I was intrigued by the consideration of miniature things. Small things, while novel and have no purpose or utilitarian aspect, exist. Why do things that serve literally no one accept except the businesses get sold? Of course I then realized I spent the entire weekend completing a miniature Christmas Village. 

    Now, before I go and throw a torch on the innocent figurines, I need to consider why my family wanted the snow topped houses in the first place. What did we get out of putting houses on our window sill that we could never use? Was it nice Christmas decor? Did my family aspire to live in old New England style houses that had shops specifically for Christmas trees?

    I think Bim Adewunmi during the podcast said it perfectly...

"Small things by nature are whimsical. They just feel like, oh, you didn't have to be. You didn't have to exist, but here you are. And that's what makes them kind of joyful."

    The small buildings that have been collected throughout my home are not just there to be decorations, they are there to bring joy to everyone that looks at them. And while I am 17 year old Senior in high school, I can still say that looking at the snow covered trees and glowing lights at night makes me smile and think about the holiday's in its purest form; joy.

Wow! Good things do really come in small packages!