Sometimes it takes something very small to overwhelm something very large.  The atom would be one example when you think of its potential in a bomb.  Add a two-week old child to the list of powerful, yet small, forces.

Our new granddaughter, though not quite eight pounds, is already an overwhelming force that brings down to size myriad things that would normally loom large and daunting:  ego, control over the future, today's "problems," and life in general.

This is no greeting card sentimentality but a reflective understanding that fits perfectly with my previous newsletter message regarding tackling experiences in life because there are "miles to go before I sleep."  She reminds me that time moves quickly.  And she reminds me that time moves on.  Our short stay on the planet provides a natural limitation in the opportunities to do good and do well, to grow and to nurture, to explore and to be curious.  There isn't that much time.  But each moment can be filled.

If we fill each moment with something meaningful, there remains no room for our own inflated ego; belief that we can control everything including the present or future; worry; fear; self doubt; or, selfishness.  And maybe that is the immense power of a two-week old new life:  it fills our thoughts and moments, pushing out the things that destroy life and living at the micro level.