Small and Trivial Things Have the Butterfly Effect!

“For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of the shoe, the horse was lost. For want of the horse, the rider was lost. For want of the rider, the battle was lost. For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost. And all from the want of a horseshoe nail.”

It is an English folk song about a kingdom being lost because of a want of a horseshoe nail. How can one small nail ruin a giant kingdom? Although it is somewhat extreme, it shows that small and trivial things can lead to massive consequences as a result of chain reactions.

People generally tend to take small and trivial things lightly. People take a matter that will bring a great gain or loss or something that will bring a great change seriously, but when it comes to small daily things, they take them lightly and don’t pay much attention to it. However, most big and important things are from minor things. The vast sea starts from a small stream, and the dense forest begins with small seeds, don’t they? Therefore, no matter how small something is, we must not regard it as insignificant.

Life can be very different, depending on how you spend your daily life. Even among those who live similar lives, some are happy and some are unhappy. This is the result of minor differences. If you know that happiness depends on something trivial rather than something big and grand, then you can achieve the ultimate goal of life, that is, happiness, through that trivial thing.

Light conversations decide family harmony

A child followed his friend to his house. As soon as they arrived, his friend told his mom everything that had happened at school, and his mom gave ear to all the little things he told her. The child told his mom only necessary things like what to bring to school the next day and what books he needed to buy, but his friend was having a fun conversation with his mom. When he saw that, his friend’s home felt very happy and warm.

What made his friend’s home look happy was the light conversation between his friend and his mom. Small talks affect family harmony. If you just talk about what you have to say at home, how awkward will the home atmosphere be among the family members? Even if you experienced something unpleasant, if you come home and laugh and chat with your family through a comfortable talk, you can feel a lot better. This is the power of a light conversation that cannot be ignored.

Among family members, a small talk about every little thing is not useless. Even if a conversation seems to have no content, while talking with your family, you can learn your child’s concerns and your spouse’s innermost feelings. Not only that, but also the way to have a serious conversation will open by itself. As for a family that shares conversations even about little things, they can overcome even big crisis through a serious conversation. People’s ability to control their emotions becomes weak when they face a difficult situation. However, if they are trained to communicate with their family regularly, it gives a great help in solving problems.

There are some people who say they don’t know what to talk about with their family because they are not talkative. Even if it is not about something important, you can talk about little things such as the news articles, the weather, and what you ate for lunch. If you really don’t have anything to talk about, you can ask questions and find common interests or talk about the other person’s interests. This way, you can have a rich and cheerful conversation.

It doesn’t mean that you can say anything you want to say just because it is a light conversation. You should avoid topics that the other person is not interested in, or nagging, or questions that embarrass the other person, or careless answers, or a neglectful attitude after asking a question.

Happiness index goes up when you are content with small things

It is rare for some big luck to just come for no reason. When you get admission to a school you want or get hired by a company you want, you feel great joy and happiness at that moment, but it doesn’t last forever. People think that happiness will increase when the income increases, but there is a research that shows how happiness no longer increases although the income increases, when the income reaches a certain point.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “Happiness consists more in the small conveniences of pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life,” it is important to rejoice, feel content, and appreciate small and trivial things that happen in daily life.

People who are satisfied with small matters will appreciate it when the husband buys some snacks on the way home for the family after work, but those who are not will complain and think, ‘When can we dine in a nice restaurant?’ Someone who is satisfied with a small thing will be pleased with a paper flower their child made, but those who are not will nag them, saying, “If you have time to make a paper flower, study.”

According to the UN’s report made in 2016, the happiest nation in the world was Denmark. The secret of happiness of the Danish people is simple. Danish people pursue hygge for a way of living. Hygge is a word for “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality,” meaning “feeling a warm heart and happiness in daily life.” It means activities like “having a rest with family after dinner,” “reading a good book with a candle on,” “taking a walk in the forest with a beloved younger sibling,” “drinking coffee with a good friend,” and so on. When you feel content with such small things, you will have more opportunities to experience happiness and your whole life will become happier.

Let’s turn our eyes and ears to small matters in low places. We will definitely find happiness like precious jewels that we didn’t see before.

In many cases, family discord begins from a minor problem. Inversely, a small matter turns into a hope that can help you build up your family’s harmony. It’s just like the butterfly effect. The butterfly effect is a hypothesis that the small flap of a butterfly’s wings can cause a tornado on the other side of the globe, meaning that a small change has a huge impact.

Talking with family, smiling to family, answering family’s phone call in a kind voice, expressing gratitude even for a small help, handing a small gift … It seems small and trivial, but these little efforts make dreams come true. If you are dreaming of a happy life, start from small things, step by step, like the flap of a butterfly’s wings. That’s all it takes.