Everyone talks about the big picture. What about the little one? You never hear someone talk fondly of the little picture. All the “You have to see the big picture.” talk makes it seem like this little picture, whatever it is, isn’t something you want to spend any real time with. Maybe it has bad personal hygiene? Or, it’s not a good conversationalist, too many awkward pauses and “ums?” No, I’ve got it. The little picture must have a hard time seeing the big picture.
Seen as seeing the big picture seems to be the thing, I guess I needn’t trouble myself over one smaller.
But, seen as I’ve troubled where I needn’t before I’m thinking I needn’t not trouble once more.
So let’s trouble ourselves with the little picture endeavor.
What is the little picture? Some say it’s the details. They caution not to perspire over stuff small. Let’s consider ourselves duly warned and step over this one as it’s a bit ripe from overuse. It just won’t have the same snap when we sink our mini dental implants into it. We can dismiss this handily because this is our endeavor and in endeavors of your own concocting you can choose your own adventure. Sure, there’s some truth there. We can stress about stuff that doesn’t matter. Yet my appetite for all pictures little still rumbles in my belly. Let’s see what else we can find.
Wait, rewind that clip a clip. Isn’t there another cliche about the devil being in the details? He’s probably the guy that’s telling everyone to look at the big picture! What a blowhard. What’s he got against the little picture? Next time someone tells you not to sweat the small stuff you should probably check for hooved feet and listen for the faint sound of rock and roll music. If they begin gyrating their hips, kick them in the shin and scream like a tea kettle on the boil.
Oh, where art thou, little picture?
I fear we have but one place to look, deep in the recesses of the big picture.
Now, the big picture and I go way back. We’re like “this.” We’ve been through a lot. We’ve seen some stuff. Mostly good. But not all good. The big picture isn’t always what it’s painted out to be. This is usually because of who I’ve allowed to hold the brush. Just because you can hold it doesn’t always mean you can paint with it. For me, the big picture has been painted mostly by myself, taking cues from the world around me. Not always a terrible thing unless you don’t know the only way to get a big picture is by creating a lot of little ones. The thing about the little ones is sometimes they don’t even look like an object of a bigger picture. Often they’re nothing more than an abstract shape or touch of color. In and of themselves, nothing notable. You could probably ignore them without having to ignore them. Often they repeat themselves like a second or third stroke. It’s easy to miss what they actually are, life.
Can the bigger picture be whatever you want it to be? In some ways I think, “yes.” We get to choose the little pictures. And I’m convinced it’s compiling the little ones that gets you to the big one. Be careful though. If you choose the big picture before considering what little pictures it will commission, you may find yourself in a place that resembles a distortion. There you’ll be, paint on your fingers, wondering who’s idea this was. It might take a bit but you’ll eventually find the signature you scrawled during your artistic frenzy. It could feel a lot like Charlton Heston finding the Statue of Liberty buried on the beach but without the creepy talking gorillas from the future. So choose wisely. You often get what you ask for.
I still have a big picture in my mind. But instead of sacrificing myself to its master plan, I’m just trying to paint a lot of little pictures right now. I’ve titled these works Meredith, William, Adeline, Peace, Joy and Love. I realize those last few make me sound like a hippy. I think hippies are cool. The “successful” ones know what’s important to them and they aren’t afraid of what you or I say or think when they go after it. They aren’t concerned with fitting in. Not in the way most of us are. I think I’d make a mediocre hippy but with a little practice I could get by.
So what do you say we go paint some little pictures?
I bet we won’t have to search very far for inspiration.
Photo of painting by Konrad Biro
