Kroika.

You wrote:

"life is too short to be small"

I think that to have a 'great' life one would have to be 'big enough' to be able to clearly perceive the underlying reality of both one's own experiences and 'being'.

How can that achieved?

Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche say this about that issue:

"We always think that it is someone else who is causing our problems and robbing us of happiness. If we look carefully, however, there is no such enemy to be found. From beginning-less time, throughout countless lives, and from the moment of our birth until now, we have been cheating ourselves. You may think, "I never act that way; I'm a good person." But you will never gain absolute understanding if you look at things in such a simplistic way. Investigate your mental attitude toward things and discover how you impose your mistaken projections onto the people you meet and onto all other phenomena as well.

Most of the time, we paint: we put our own limited interpretation on everything. You can discover this tendency even without resorting to an analysis of the ultimate nature of reality. Merely taking into account the relative, conventional appearance of things, ask yourself, "Who am I? What am I?" A certain definite picture of who it is you think you are will appear suddenly on a relative level of truth. Now subject this self-image to close scrutiny. "Is this who I really am? Do I in fact appear this way to everyone all the time?" When you do such an investigation honestly, this painted image will fade. As you see it disappear into unreality, you will discover for yourself how distorted your perception of other phenomena must be as well. You will see that your painted, sensory world is but the product of mistaken projections, and that the feelings aroused by such a fictitious universe keep you shuttling back and forth between elation and despair. This circle of dissatisfaction, built on illusion, is samsara( the world of suffering) itself, and your investigation will show you that it is fashioned within your own mind.

If you train yourself to look at things in this way, you will never think that your problems are the fault of society, your country, your father or mother. You will realize that the problem is within you. In order to prepare yourself for this task of self-analysis, you first need some instruction in how to think clearly. This will help you put in order the many diverse mental phenomena you will uncover. In addition, as certain truths are not immediately obvious, they must be shown to you beforehand by a trusted guide. It is in this sense that there is a doctrinal aspect to this process of self-analysis as well. But the true force of this investigation is your own unmistaken wisdom-energy, which will give you powerful control over your life.

There is no danger involved in accepting this way of experimenting with your everyday experiences. There is nothing tricky or misleading about such a practical philosophy. You see that your mental problems arise from painted projections of an illusory world. Fooled by this illusion, you falsely discriminate certain feelings to be "good" and others to be "bad." But this illusory world is no one's world. Whose could it be? Investigate! My projection of "California" is no one else's projection. That is why Buddhist philosophy says that in this respect, all phenomena are created by your own mind. These words have a profound, essential meaning that cannot be discovered by the hypocritical, intellectually polluted mind. You must experiment and experience yourself the illusory nature of your projections. Only in this way will you be able to perceive the underlying reality."

- pp 35, 36 of 'WISDOM ENERGY, Basic Buddhist Teachings' 25th Edition, by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-170-x