The Significance of Insignificance

“There is Significance in all of the seemingly insignificant around us.”
- Lynn Butterfield

The Significance of Insignificance

Ever since I’ve been working to deepen my gratitude, I‘ve been marveling at an “unintended consequence” I never would have considered otherwise. It’s something that has been hard for me to put a label on until now. Perhaps I can illustrate what I’m learning with a small example.


I live about thirty miles from the center of downtown Salt Lake City and decided to save money by riding the bus to work almost twelve years ago. Since my home is in a rural area, the bus doesn’t come right down my street. If I were to ride the bus and make it to the office by 9:00 a.m., I would need to get up quite early in the morning to account for an additional walk of almost two miles to the bus stop.


On winter mornings this walk can be rather cold, so I would bundle up to make sure I could comfortably walk the distance and also be warm as I waited by the side of the road. I would also need to wear some boots so my feet would stay warm and dry as I walked. It wasn’t too long before I found that the quality of my walk depended a great deal on how comfortable my boots were.


After only a couple of days of walking, I began to pay a large price in pain as my feet sent a clear message telling me that the boots I was wearing were not very good walking shoes. Even as the weather warmed and I didn’t need to wear the boots my feet ached as a result of the blisters that hadn’t yet healed.


One evening as I walked up the road toward my house it seemed as if my feet just couldn’t take any more. I remember thinking to myself, “I don’t think I can make it home.”
Then, I answered myself, “So, what are you going to do, lie down here on the side of the road and die?”


I continued on.


It wasn’t much more than a few more steps, after this battle within my mind took place, when a small car pulled up to my side. It was my friend Danny Idom. He rolled down the front passenger window and cheerfully asked, “Can I give you a ride?” On that day, at that time, Danny looked very much like an angel to me!


You can see what a difference this incidence made in my life because it happened a long time ago. Yet, it’s still powerful in my mind and it feels as if it happened yesterday. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this story is that the most powerful lesson to be learned didn’t even enter my grateful mind until a few months later.


I had an occasion to speak with Danny and express my gratitude by saying, “You know Danny, I never told you how much I really needed a ride home that day when you picked me up. My feet really hurt and I just couldn’t walk anymore.”


To my astonishment Danny couldn’t even remember picking me up that day. He simply said, “You know Lynn, I don’t remember doing that, so it wasn’t a big deal.”


To Danny, his act of kindness was insignificant. To me, Danny’s act of kindness was hugely significant!


There is significance in this discovery! I’ve been observing people and their “insignificant acts,” ever more carefully over the past couple of weeks and have been amazed to see relationships that I never dreamed possible before. This has led me to reach some conclusions about “significance.”


First, it’s impossible to know which of our personal actions are of significance. Since I’m not able to see from another person’s eyes I can’t know exactly what they need at any given time. I can only make assumptions about what they need, what is best for them; and most of the time I’m wrong. This realization alone has been a life changer for me. It has caused me to be much more thoughtful about what I say and do.


Second, the impact of my words and actions go far beyond my intention. I’ve said many things throughout my life and have found that even my smallest words have had unintended negative and positive consequences; unimaginable to me when I said them and even more unimaginable to me when I’ve seen their impact years later.


I received a message from a childhood friend two weeks ago. I haven’t been in contact with him for more than thirty-five years and he thanked me for my actions taken even longer ago than that. Talk about a life changing revelation! My words and actions live forever as far as I can tell. I shudder at the thought of how many things I have inadvertently done to hurt others now as a result of this disclosure!


Third, no one on this planet is insignificant. Every living person is connected in ways I’m unable to comprehend. If you don’t believe this, just take a few minutes to think of some of the serendipitous things that have happened to you over the past week! Really think about it and you’ll see an amazing pattern begin to be revealed.


Finally, knowing what I know now, I can begin to move forward in a way never possible before. I know that by doing what most people think of as insignificant, I’m really acting with purpose to make a difference in lives. You’re doing the same!


As you’re doing so, make sure to produce a significant difference this very day by attending to the most insignificant thing you can do. It will make a lifetime of difference for you and everyone around you if you will. Put the significance of insignificance to work and see an amazing change!


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