I was thinking this morning how import it is I do not take for granted little things.  Sometimes it is the little things that become big things.  here have been things said in passing by others that have stuck with me for life.  They were foundation stones I built my life on.
That to me is why the seemingly insignificant is not to be despised and may in fact be significant beyond measure to another.  My going to the shops, or a chance meeting at a party, or a trip to watch the footy.  All these things can potentially change my life direction or that of another.
I have had a change of thinking in recent times and am listening to music that was popular years ago, but I chose not to listen to.  Instead I chose to listen to music by obscure people.  People that were not necessarily popular at the time.  My thinking was every life is a story.  Everyone has something to say.
The albums were usually cheaper, but I would listen out as so often there would be one song that encapsulated something that I held to and have remembered for the rest of my life.
I was only saying something to someone yesterday that I heard decades ago but has stuck with me.  And that was the whole point for me.  What I heard was right for me at the time, and right for another decades later.  That was unknown to me.
I guess that is encapsulated in something I heard decades ago but is something I have held to all that time. “I’m not one who’s got it all in place telling you what you should do.  “I’m just one ol hungry beggar showing you where I found food.”
That to me says it all.  I cannot and do not want to pretend it is any other way, but I really want to give to others what has sustained and inspired me.  I do not know the impact of my words or actions.  I am not responsible for the actions of others, but I am responsible for my own actions.  What I regard as little, may be big.  If something has inspired me, I will, to the best of my ability share it with another in the hope it helps sustain.
I was listening to a song recently that highlighted the dash in gravestones. For example the stone may say Albert Smith 1935-2010.  It is the dash that represents the life.  The stone may say very little about the person, but the dash represents a lifetime of experience.  No doubt some good and some not so good.
But whatever, I trust those around shared inspiration, and perhaps that dash influenced for good many other nearby dashes by sharing what may have at the time seemed a little thing but changed a life forever.

I was looking at the term “talk poppy syndrome.”  Co-pilot defined it as “Tall poppy syndrome refers to the phenomenon where individuals who achieve notable success or stand out are criticized, resented, or attacked by others, often as a means of enforcing social equality.”
While it is a term very much associated with Australia and New Zealand other countries have terms that refer to a similar phenomenon.
In Japan, a similar common expression is "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down" In the Netherlands, this expression is "don't put your head above ground level." In Chile, this expression is known as 'pull the jacket'.  In Scandinavia, this expression is known as the Law of Jante, a phrase that originates from a 1933 satirical novel by Aksel Sandemose. It is a code that contains rules and stipulations such as "you're not to think you are anything special" and "perhaps you don't think we know a few things about you?". In Canada, the term "tall poppy syndrome" is used in particular to refer to successful women being criticised for their success (all Wikipedia).
The reason I have been looking at that is I have no problem with success and criticism to me can be nothing but bugs to be ignored or dealt with.  Sometimes it seems to me tall poppy syndrome is born of nothing but jealousy.
But I do have a problem with inordinate pride.  I really feel it sets itself up for a fall.
What is ideal to me is success born of humility.  My feeling is I or anyone may be successful and that is at best something to be thankful for.  I had no say in being born and I will go the way of all.  Pride is misguided at best.
It is not something that need be terminal.  Pride like that to my mind needs to be acknowledged and dealt with.  Success is best when born of humility.  Otherwise I reckon it will be seen for what it is.

I was looking up quotes about love this morning and came across something that really made me think.  “The worst prison would be a closed heart.”
It seems to me that long after malice is a memory and selfishness had been banished love will remain.
I feel the lack of love is the reason for many problems.  To me love is giving and looking out for others.  It acts in the best interests of not just itself but those around. 
Therefore I do not think it is a bad thing to be closed to things like hate.  Closed by its very definition to me means shutting the doors and keeping out things that destroy.
We get visits from different birds.  Some I encourage while others I let know that this yard is closed.  There is one plover that stands on our roof and looks longingly into this yard.  Twice we have come home and found it here.  It is let know in no uncertain terms it is not welcome here.  It is not because we hate the bird, but it is just that this is not the place for it.  As far as I know it does not land here anymore.
It is the same with a family of crows.  One family we like but this family we discourage. They are bullies.  They have already attempted to kick out the crows we encourage.  So we kick them out and make provision for the defenceless.
So in my mind closed for some things is good.  But I do not think closed to new ideas, new learnings, possible new ways or new ideas is a good thing.  The word closed by its very nature suggests to me not being open.  Not being open to some things is right.  Not being open to all things limits possibilities.  If a shop was forever closed it would rule out the possibility of ever making a sale.
I tend to hold to the words of songs I find say the truth succinctly.  Like “you set me free with that ball and chain.”  A ball and chain suggest confinement, yet to me in this instance it suggests freedom.  It suggests a lack of access to what destroys but access to a multitude of other things which liberate.
Way to go I reckon.  Being closed to some things is a good, healthy and safe thing.  Being open to other things enables me to explore possibilities. Just like with a healthy plant keeping some things out of its environment enables the plant to thrive.
I thrive being open to love but closed to its opposite.