Reflection #126 (28th June 2026 at Essex Church / Kensington Unitarians)
This idea we’re exploring today – the notion that modest, consistent, actions can bring about positive change, and enable us to achieve great things over the long term – it’s a well-worn idea. There are so many proverbs and sayings to remind us of the fact. Eric Zimmer reminded us of a few in that last reading we heard: Rome wasn’t built in a day. Slow and steady wins the race. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time (that one’s not my favourite – I feel sorry for the elephant!).
The sayings continue – and they come from all over the globe – there’s the Tanzanian proverb ‘Little by little, a little becomes a lot’, and the similar Peruvian prover which translates to ‘Little by little, one walks far’, and from China the saying of Confucius ‘It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.’
Self-help and productivity books talk about the ‘compound effect’ of establishing modest but consistent habits. Sports scientists – especially in my favourite sport of cycling – have in recent decades spoken about chasing ‘marginal gains’ to optimise performance (and, while not uncontroversial, that has transformed the entire sport). It’s a central tenet of the 12-step recovery movement as well: ‘One day at a time’. We see people turn their entire lives round, in the long term, by taking it day-by-day. Zimmer is in long-term recovery and that experience has shaped the book he wrote.
And the faith traditions all have something to say about it too. In the reading we heard from Mussy earlier, we were reminded of the parable of the mustard seed, and a couple of other scriptural encouragements to start small and keep at it. In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad apparently taught: ‘The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are consistent, even if they are small.’ And the Buddha, in the Dhammapada, is recorded as saying ‘Drop by drop is the water pot filled.’ That last one is particularly interesting, actually, as in context he’s saying that it can go either way; little by little you can make positive change OR you can go astray and it can all go wrong.
I’ll share the two verses from the Dhammapada so you get both sides of the picture:
Think not lightly of evil, saying, “It will not come to me.” Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little, fills himself with evil. Think not lightly of good, saying, “It will not come to me.” Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.
So it’s important for us to remember that, as with more-or-less everything in life, this ‘little by little’ approach is something that can be put to use for good or ill. We can intentionally set out to establish good habits – to make those small, unspectacular, but sustainable changes in our lives or the life of the world – and crucially not try to change a thousand things at once, but just focus on one thing we can stick at… until it’s stuck. But at the same time we have to be wary of unthinkingly picking up bad habits – we can slide into behaviours we know aren’t in our or anyone’s best interests – and on any given day perhaps it doesn’t seem too serious yet ‘little by little, a little becomes a lot’. We can end up – in our own lives, or as a community, a society – somewhere we don’t want to be. The Buddha gives us a warning that we should harness this insight wisely.
I want to invite you to consider where in your life you could apply this insight today. Let’s make it real and practical. Think about where you are at, personally – your context, your circumstances, what you’re dealing with right now – your stage of life. Perhaps also about the communities you’re embedded in. Your place in the world.
Maybe, like me, you have an absurdly, oppressively, humungous to-do list weighing you down – consisting not only of basic adulting and life maintenance, and responsibilities towards others – but also social and cultural engagement, learning, activism, creative aspirations. This is what we’re like, isn’t it? It’s good! We care about a lot of things, we’re interested in a lot of things, we like to get involved. And it can be overwhelming.
So perhaps, for you, the way to use this approach is to identify one tiny step that you could take to move closer to where you want to be in life – or who you want to be – just one extremely modest action, in one domain of your life, that you could even do today. Remember what Zimmer said: “Here’s what I mean by “little by little”: low-resistance actions, done consistently over time, in the same direction. “Low-resistance” is all about choosing actions we’ll actually do, while “consistently” is all about repetition. In the same direction means that all the little steps are headed toward the same thing. These qualities, resistance and consistency, are at the heart of creating momentum and overcoming the roadblocks in our way.’
When you think about your life right now – you could also take a moment to look back – and think about how far you’ve already come. All the little-by-littles that have already compounded in your life to date, the ways in which you’ve grown and developed, the metaphorical mountains you’ve already climbed (or indeed chiselled your way through as we heard in the story of Mountain Man that Chloë read). Perhaps past-you had a dream, an aspiration, and present-you is that dream made real. Well done! You’ve most-likely already achieved a lot and accumulated fair bit of wisdom along the way.
But let’s also take a moment to think about future-you. Maybe even imagine a time when you are nearing the end of your life and looking back over the span of it all. What modest step could you take today that future-you would look back and thank you for? What metaphorical mustard seed could you sow, and faithfully tend, one day at a time, trusting that it will grow into something really worthwhile? There was that quote from Zephaniah in the first reading, ‘Do not despise… small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.’ And the reminder that ‘By embracing small beginnings, we allow God to multiply our efforts, and turn our seeds of faith into trees of blessing.’
This is not just about personal growth, or optimising our lives, for our own benefit. That first reading spoke about the Kingdom of God – also known as the Beloved Community – that better world, that realm of justice, that we’re forever striving towards, yet is also mysteriously always ‘at hand’. Little by little we can each chip away – we MUST chip away – at all that we know is wrong in this world, and help build something better instead.
It’s a well-worn quote in Unitarian circles, but I feel obliged to share the wise words of Edward Everett Hale, which encourage us to play our part in whatever small way we can: ‘I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.’
Think about what it is you want to give your energies to, and then intentionally focus them, so that your efforts stand the best chance of making an impact in the long run. Perhaps you are particularly motivated by wanting to combat the climate emergency, or fight the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, or stand up for trans rights, whatever you feel particularly called to concentrate on. There are many worthy causes. Many wrongs that need to be put right. Or rather than focusing on combating wrongs, you might be more suited to building a better alternative, helping to co-create counter-cultural spaces that reflect your values… like this one. At ‘How to be a Unitarian’ on Thursday we were talking about how we could collectively turn around the fortunes of our Unitarian denomination and reach more people. That’s a worthy project too! And if we want our community to thrive, to be there for us and others, we all need to engage.
You cannot do everything, but still you can do something… and no matter how modest your contribution seems, if it’s one that you can show up and do consistently, day after day, week after week, until months become years… little by little, a little becomes a lot.
I want to close with an echo of those words from Zimmer that we heard right at the beginning of the service. He said: ‘No matter where we find ourselves – whether life feels generous or stripped bare – there is always some small step available to us. Not always the one we want. Not always the one that changes everything. But something. A movement toward meaning. Some of us are given more room, more freedom, more choices; others, fewer. But even in the narrowest of places, a choice still waits. Small, positive steps worth taking, choices worth making.’ May we take those steps, and make those crucial choices, for the greater good of all. Amen.
Reflection by Jane Blackall