I'm sorry, it's been quite a while since I posted here. No excuse, but it's been quite a busy life for me the last couple of years, and I lost a few months last year to a bad choice of medication, though it had to be tried.

Anyway, todays talkings. 

I remember a song in my youth by the charming Ian Drury: Reasons to be Cheerful (part 3) At the time I was never sure of the words, the reasons Ian Drury had for being cheerful, he didn't sing it especially clearly but the tune always got my toe tapping and the corners of my mouth upturned - rather awkward when I was trying to be the moody teenager, but still .....

Stop for a moment, think hard. What reasons do you have to be cheerful? It's ok, I'll wait while you have a think, come back when you're ready.



Got one? More? Yes? Great!


Or, not thought of one yet? OK, here's one for you. You're alive.


Yes, the simple fact that you're reading this, or having it read to you, even if it's by a piece of software, means you are amongst the living. While you live there is hope. Dead there is nothing (depending on your religious leanings you may disagree, but that isn't you in this current realm, so we'll not count that for now, if you don't mind).(If you do mind, apologies, but this may not be the place for you. God is not in this blog.)

So, you're alive, that's one on our list of reasons to be cheerful. A universal one for us all. One we can share. Now isn't that nice. We are all connected by something we share - life. So none of us is truly alone. 

OK, getting a bit metaphysical there, speaking of intangible connections. Let's look at something a bit more tangible. How about clothes? You are wearing clothes aren't you? I'm not sure how comfortable I feel about being read in the nude. But even if you are, if you have foregone clothes for this moment, you do own some. So you can be clothed. In fact I suspect you may have a choice of outfits, perhaps several to choose from. Some warm for those cold days, some cool for the warmer ones. Chances are you have clothes for every sort of weather your region experiences to prevent you from being adversely affected by them. And perhaps you have some for travel to places with slightly different weather.

Well, isn't that something to be cheerful about?

And how about where you sleep? You have a roof over your head, a bed to lay on, protection from the elements and malicious persons while you sleep. A place to store all your belongings so they're not open to the world to take? Isn't that something you can be cheerful about?

And how about birdsong, or the beauty of nature. Does seeing a kitten in a teapot make you smile? How about children laughing, or a baby lamb springing around in it's field. These things you can picture if you're not lucky enough to have them to hand (though shouldn't everyone have a springing lamb to hand? ;-) )

Even in these times of austerity and cuts, there are still things to be cheerful about. Many of them will be personal to the individual - good friends, a kind word from a stranger, support from a loved one in time of need, having friends who listen, having a job you enjoy ...... 

I am cheerful that the sun came out today, that the air temperature has gone up a few degrees, that the pain medication I'm taking is working better, that my cat's health has stabilised and, though not perfect, he's doing well and is happy. I'm cheerful that I can afford the gas to heat my house to keep me warm. I'm cheerful that I got some books to read yesterday, that I don't need to go shopping in the supermarket this weekend (all those people, all that queueing....)

Little things, maybe. But the little things add up. 1+1=2, but 1+1+1+1+1............ a million times is a million - that's a lot of little things. A lot of things to be cheerful about.

See if you can come up with three initially, then keep adding to your list as they occur to you. Write them down, count them up. Is that good enough reason to be cheerful? How about if you add another one? Or another?

Then, be cheerful. :o)