I have spent the last 2 days hacking back our rather large front hedge with a combination of chainsaw, hand saw and loppers.  When I say large, I mean some of it is around 30’ high!  So we did a lot of cutting and consequently had a whole lot of branches to get rid of.  It was a huge pile and would take days to burn it all.   In order to make this more manageable we cut all the big branches down into 4’ lengths and trimmed all the side branches.  I was truly amazed by how the pile diminished.

It occurred to me that life can be a bit like this.  A problem can seem absolutely huge, but when you break it down into smaller pieces it becomes manageable.  A bit like the old answer to “How do you eat and elephant?” …  “One bite at a time!”   

“Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won’t happen. We have to teach ourselves how to make room for them, to love them, and to live, really live.”   — Anna Quindlen (A Short Guide to a Happy Life)