The Little Things

As Howie sits in the plaza, enjoying his snack of milk and a cookie, he is utterly repulsed by Aurelius's summation of life: one day we are semen, the next ash. This bleak, defeatist passage continually upsets Howie for a very specific reason: Howie enjoys the little things. He enjoys the many facets of his day-to-day life. There is so much in the world! There is so much in our lives! How can anyone overlook this? How dare he simplify it down to us being born and dying, nothing more!

Throughout the book, Howie points out and recalls the most mundane things. He talks at great length about the joys of whistling in the bathroom and of rubbing one’s foot against the floor. These small things that most of us take for granted are the reasons he enjoys his life. He seems to get through his day by fondly thinking of all of these commonplace things. As a result of picking up on all of these seemingly microscopic facets of life, Howie’s life is pretty damn big. It is made up of all these small things that bring him comfort. There is so much in his life. Thus, he does not take Aurelius’s comments on life very well. There is so much to enjoy and learn in one’s life, and it is ridiculous that someone either cannot see or chooses to ignore this.

I wholeheartedly agree with Howie. I understand Aurelius; I get that he is saying our lives can have little effect in the grand scheme of things, but that does not mean they are nothing. Our lives are far from empty. As Howie points out, even the small act of pondering one’s shoelaces can bring contentment and understanding.