The little things...

Way back when I had my first encounter with spirituality, I was inspired by the words of a young man who seemed to me, at the time, much too smart for the amount of religiosity he subscribed to. But he won me over with these words: "If you do the ordinary things exceptionally well, imagine how you will do the very big things." That was tangible to me. I understood excellence. As a chronic overachiever, who always wanted to do more, I stopped to think briefly that maybe I just had to do things better. My perfectionist side took this to an extreme and I obsessed over every little mistake I was to make in the coming years, but that led me to a number of other encounters, challenges, tests and lessons that brought me closer to the truth.
Now, older, hopefully wiser, but infinitesimally more compassionate and enlightened, I understand this to mean being mindful in all the small tasks of the day, as they contribute to your overall successes. The more you can master responding out of love, and completing mundane tasks with joy, the more attention you can pay to the mere act of making a bed, the more present, alive and connected you are, to the universe and those all around you.
So if I had to describe my religion to anyone nowadays, I would say:
I believe we are all connected, we are all one - we must interact with love and kindness.
I believe our souls know the truth of the purpose of life - we must become more still and mindful to hear the call.
I believe we must cultivate strengths and habits, like courage and commitment - so we can fulfill our destiny and never be afraid to do the work and make the changes necessary to achieve our potential.