Reasons to be Cheerful

One of the pieces of music I have on my funeral playlist is "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". I'm nothing if not eclectic, I also have the "Dies Irae" chorus from Verdi's Requiem mass, which is the choral depiction of the day of judgement. If I'm ever at the pearly gates I'm really not sure how the scales of justice will fall. But then I think heaven & hell is within each of us, not an ultimate destination.

At the moment I am finding it quite difficult to focus on the many & varied reasons I have to be cheerful. There are so many things happening in my small world, but mainly in the world generally, that do not generate cheer. I don't think I need to enumerate them.

But in order not to sink into gloom I think that we all need to try to focus on the positive. 

Yesterday I wrote the draft of this listening to a playlist of the most beautiful piano solos. I was sitting in my study, in my home, looking out onto a street bathed in sunlight shining from a clear blue sky. Two of my neighbours boys popped over to give me a huge box of apples because they are all going on holiday. That means I will bake an apple cake & pass most on to my daughter who is a better cook than me. We went to a ceramic fair in Oxford in the morning which showcased the most inspiring collection of human creativity in clay. That was just one day in the life of.....

 

My point is that hopefully most of us can find reasons to be cheerful because if we are really honest there are always people who are much worse off than we are. If I feel in the least sorry for myself when I am in pain or very fatigued, I can think of people who have far worse medical conditions than I do. If something goes wrong in my life, generally it isn't drastic or life threatening. I dread house maintenance issues, it's never easy to sort them out, but I have a comfortable house that I own. 

I've had 80 years of a really interesting & productive life. Happiness is a gift to be appreciated & acknowledged. I'm not given to joy, but I do appreciate contentment. Each new day is a bonus & a blessing now. 

That's a reason to be very cheerful.