what does "from little awful things" mean?

Someone asked me the other day why I chose "from little awful things" as the title of this blog. I told them that it's just a special phrase to me, but that is putting it in the simplest of forms. The reason that I chose those particular words to represent my blog is layered and somewhat difficult to explain.

In the most basic sense, I chose it because it has a certain ring to it. It leaves a lot to the reader's interpretation, which I think increases the sentimental value of my posts and (hopefully) makes people more inclined to see what this is all about. Leaving it so open-ended allows people to put their personal stories into mine, and apply themselves to each situation I write about, and I think that's pretty cool.

The whole reason that i came up with this phrase in the first place is because my grandmother once said it when speaking about my mother's food arranging abilities. I overheard their conversation from the kitchen one day, and that sentence just stuck with me.

They were talking about some sort of caprese salad, I think. My mother had arranged it to look presentable for dinner guests, and my grandmother said, "It looks so pretty. Your dishes always look so pretty. You have the ability to make the most beautiful arrangements from little awful things."

And so it was born. In a literal sense, the basil and tomatoes and mozzarella cheese that went into that salad were NOT awful, and they did not look bad in the first place. But I like to think that the phrase has a deeper meaning.

I believe it means that gorgeous, wonderful stuff can come from even the most hopeless of situations. There's a certain comfort in thinking that there is hope even in the darkest of times, and I wanted to share that hope with all of you.

Keeping that phrase, "from little awful things," in the back of my mind has helped me remember that there is always a way out. There is always something good that can come out of the rubble. And I hope that my words can help others, even in the slightest of ways.

If I can make one person, just one person, smile or reassess their outlook on life, I will consider this blog an accomplishment. I'm not looking to change lives. I'm just looking to make you think.