“Great things are not done by impulse,
but by a series of small things brought together.”
~ Vincent van Gogh

This weekend, I was visiting my sister Rita in Minneapolis, and she casually mentioned she was heading to a Button Society meeting.

A what? A National Button Society?
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I couldn’t believe it. I guess you never know what fascinates someone!

Buttons? The little everyday fasteners we barely notice? On the flight home I read a "Cute as a Button" book and realize that buttons are anything but ordinary. As I dug deeper, I discovered a whole world I knew nothing about. One filled with wonder, nostalgia, craftsmanship, and meaning.

The National Button Society is committed to the education, preservation and exhibition of buttons. There are collectors, historians, artists, and storytellers who dedicate themselves to these tiny circles of history.
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Buttons are small objects with big stories. They have captured the hearts of kings, craftspeople, children, and collectors.
They have been used to flaunt wealth, hide secrets, smuggle messages, and yes, even stop bullets.

From our very first baby sleepers to the cardigan of our later years, buttons quietly accompany us across a lifetime. They were often our first lesson in patience and dexterity: “Button up your coat.” We rarely notice them… until a button goes missing.
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As children, we loved their shapes, colors, and sounds: rummaging through our grandmother’s button tin, turning them into toys, treasures, or puppet eyes. And for some? That fascination never faded.
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​“You can have the shirt off my back, but you can’t have the buttons.”~ Nancy Bartholomew Fink, button collector and president of the National Button Society.

Buttons have been carved from ivory, bone, shell, wood, gold, enamel, porcelain, and even diamonds. They tell social history in a way that coins and stamps never could.

They once announced rank, class, and even moral values.

• Chinese tradition: Five front buttons for five virtues — Humanity, Justice, Order, Prudence, Rectitude
• British military: Buttons polished daily, sent to the front lines within hours
• Fashion houses: Cartier, Tiffany, Fabergé — all designed buttons as wearable masterpieces

Even the word button comes from the French bouton — a bud, a beginning — a reminder that something tiny can hold something big together.

“More can be learned about a country from its buttons than from its coins and stamps combined.” ~ Diana Epstein, button collector and historian.

So why am I writing about buttons?

Because in a world obsessed with what’s loud, large, and breaking news, buttons invite us to slow down and look closer. They remind us that meaning often hides in plain sight.

A button doesn't shout. It holds things together.

It is small — but essential. It teaches us that:

• Stability can be silent.
• Value isn’t always visible.
• What’s overlooked may be holding everything in place.

“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” ~ William Morris

This week, I invite you to ‘notice your buttons.’ The small things. The quiet anchors of your life:

*What or who silently “holds things together” for you?​
*What everyday object have you stopped seeing — even though it’s always there?​
*Where might something small be carrying something great?

Sometimes, wisdom comes not from the grand, but from the humble…a button, a breath, a single mindful moment.

“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.” ~ Arthur Conan Doyle

In a world that rushes past the ordinary, may we rediscover wonder in the details.

After all, even the tiniest button can bind together more than fabric — it can bind memories, heritage, and history.
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Every person has a story. It’s not how you tell it. It is how you live it.
Have fun. Be amazing. Live Your Legacy.

Linda
Founder, Live Your Legacy
Dream Boldly. Live Authentically.

https://lindaschwader.com/
​469-693-4519

Live Your Legacy Retreats®
Southlake, TX 76092