A tale of over 1000 words dedicated to Aloe as a recent auction prize
Things that make me happy
There are a thousand things at least that make me happy. The taste of fresh coffee each morning, the crunch of fresh snow under my feet, a friendly smile on my commute, the warmth of the sun on my face as dawn breaks, all this even before I have got the train to the office. It makes me really happy when the train runs on time.
I am a happy person. One of my nicknames is actually ‘Happy’ and it is not unheard of for people who have only heard of me but never met me in person to approach me and say ‘Are you Happy?’ The first few times this happened I wondered if they were selling insurance, double gazing or false religion, but then I twigged and now I am used to it.
People do make me happy. Everyone has a story. They may not know what that story is or how to tell it but they have a story. I am happy because I can see the potential in everyone to own their story and to achieve the best parts of their stories through their lives.
Languages make me happy. I love seeing, hearing, listening to languages of all sorts from all over the world. They fascinate me and I am especially happy when I can understand some small parts of different languages and be able to speak a few words back myself. Languages are exchanged between people, languages are there because people can listen to and understand each other. The world needs more understanding.
Babies make me happy, they always have and always will. I get very gushy around babies although if someone brings one into the office I stay away from making a fuss or going over to have a hold. Babies have an innocence that needs protecting, they have an unspoilt potential that smiles at almost everything they see in life. In different roles and different times even since my adolescence I have put myself in harm’s way in order to protect babies.
Romance makes me happy. Really happy, although I am not the most romantic soul myself. I think flowers are a key ingredient of romantic relationships and both sides in any couple should be willing and able to buy each other flowers whenever they choose. If I buy myself flowers it is because they remind me of the beauty of life and that we all need fresh air and daylight in our lives.
Art also makes me happy, in its most personal form it is an expression of the inner being. There is a proverb that ‘out of the heart, the mouth speaks’ which means what is in the heart will come out through the words of the mouth. However in art, in which ever form it is expressed, the soul can speak. I am not a painter, a sculptor or a musician but I know enough that art allows people to express themselves in ways which words cannot. Before language there was art, before understanding there was expression.
Cooking makes me happy. It means I will eat. Cooking can be as basic as boiling water or as complex as a job as a laboratory scientist. For myself, I like to enjoy slowly cooking, prepping before the prep: blanching, parboiling, marinating, seasoning etc to enhance the flavours of the foods when they are finally cooked. Cooking for other people makes them happy and making them happy makes me happy.
Clothes make me happy. It means I am not naked and I am sure that makes everybody happy. However the different types of fabric and their properties, the cut of garments and how they drape across the body, the use of colour to make lines and patterns that can lead or mislead the eye of an observer. Functional clothes make me happy. Garments that have been designed with particular uses in mind and when they are put to the test in those uses the clothes work well, then that makes me happy.
Fresh air makes me really happy. Being able to climb a mountain and see as far as the eye can see on a clear day makes me happy. Especially if I cannot see a city in any direction. People are make me happy yes, but give me a few days trekking on my own through the forests and fields, mountains and meadows and I will come out much happier than I dare imagine.
My sweat makes me happy. I love exercising and seeing the different ways in which I can push myself. Although not a drug user myself I do like Lance Armstrong’s title of one of his books ‘it’s not about the bike’. It’s not about the form of exercise itself, it’s about the freedom to ride anywhere I like at any speed I like for any distance I like. The same with running, hiking etc
By now you may be able to tell that freedom makes me happy. If I am free, if people are free, then we can make choices for ourselves, make mistakes, learn what makes us happy and what makes us sad. Usually a lack of freedom is a sign of oppression, suppression or aggression. None of these make me happy. Not even on a temporary basis.
Having started this post about things that make me happy in the morning I will finish it with what makes me happy at night. A powerful, warm shower. A glass of warm milk (did you know that warm milk can trigger brain effects similar to the response to opiates?) obviously makes me happy, as does the smell of air dried, fresh bed linen and a cosy, thick duvet. I love a nice pillow too and a clear sky with a full moon in all it’s brightness. Then my dreams – I dream of a happy world, free from war, hunger, poverty, oppression and cruelty. These dreams make me happy and although I know how unrealistic they are, I am happy with the life that I have actually got.
Matti "Happy" Wild
- 5 months, 15 days ago
I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines. Wow! Rather you than me. I did sprints & hurdles, so a MARATHON would be just that: a marathon.
