think small
I just finished reading “Saturday” by Ian McEwan. I always enjoy his writing, and in this case, one part of the novel has resurfaced in my mind several times. Early on in the book, the protagonist, Henry Perowne, goes downstairs with insomnia at 4am, where his teenage son Theo is hanging out before bed. McEwan writes:
“On a recent Sunday evening, Theo came up with an aphorism: the bigger you think, the crappier it looks. Asked to explain he said, ‘When we go on about the big things, the political situation, global warming, world poverty, it all looks really terrible, with nothing getting better, nothing to look forward to. But when I think small, closer in—you know, a girl I’ve just met, or this song we’re going to do with Chas, or snowboarding next month, then it looks great. So this is going to be my motto—think small.”
This aphorism seems to me particularly resonant at this moment in time. There are things about my personal life that are lovely, though the recent national and international news continues to be rather alarming, and makes me concerned for my own and our country’s future. Perhaps more specifics on that to come.
