Birmingham man Kenneth Hayes said that after a lifetime of chasing big dreams and big plans to no avail, he now finds meaning in the small things of life – like paper clips.
“They're so tiny!” marveled Ken. “And yet so powerful in all they hold together. That's real strength.”
Ken takes great pleasure in miniature versions of everyday food items - like fingerling potatoes, cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers, and, of course, baby carrots.
“I know they're not really babies,” acknowledged Ken regarding the bright orange tubers. “But they're so cute!”
And Ken very much appreciates his set of Matryoshka "nesting" dolls, the tiny wooden dolls of decreasing size which fit inside one another. "I like the smallest one the best," said Ken. "But I enjoy the anticipation of getting there."
Other small things in life that make Ken's life meaningful? Tiny glass figurines. His collection is extensive, ranging from glass animals, humans, and elves to inanimate objects like tiny glass cars and houses.
“There's no particular theme,” said Ken of his diverse figurine collection. “Just small.”
And in a pinch, Ken looks to nature to provide additional micro-inspiration. “We tend to focus on the big things in nature, like mountains, trees, the sky,” he noted. “But people forget there are small things in nature, too. Snowflakes, for instance, are very small. And raindrops. There are also some extremely tiny pebbles - even some leaves. If you really look for them, you start to see them. To me, that's what life is all about.”
