Reasons to Be Cheerful 1,2,3

One might be forgiven for feeling rather less than cheerful at the moment. The promise of spring weather has been dashed by days of rain, snow and freezing winds. Abroad, the war in Ukraine shows no end in sight – only a troubling increase in casualties and cruel tactics. At home, the economy is staggering under the twin pressures of the continuing pandemic and steeply rising prices. So why, you are no doubt asking, have I entitled this post ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’? The answer is surprisingly simple. In the face of such conditions, we have precisely two options: sink into despair and retreat from the world or make the best of it. In the past, I have opted for the first. I would not recommend it. Depression immobilises us and seeps into the lives of others, draining them of energy too.

The other option, the one I hold to with fierce conviction, is the Pollyannaish one. This term is often misused to suggest a naive and excessive optimism. Which is ironic, because the Pollyanna of the eponymous books searches for good as a way of coping with adversity. She is, after all, an orphan sent to live with a grumpy aunt who doesn’t want her and who is later seriously injured in a car accident. Pollyanna does not avoid difficulty or fail to see it: she simply does everything in her power to transform it. Which is what, if you wish to ‘keep your head when all about you/ Are losing theirs’, I suggest you do.

We need not be quite so saccharine as the hero of this early twentieth century novel, but should we care to look, there are always reasons to be cheerful. Here are mine:

Friends

Where would we be without them? This weekend, I was over-joyed to host my housemates from university. We hadn’t seen each other for over a decade and I was a little worried lest we wouldn’t know what to utter to each other. Suffice to say, these fears were unfounded. The two days passed in a flash of chatter and giggles. It was a wonderful antidote to current events and though the visit left me exhausted in body, it left me elated in spirit.

For those precious days, the sun returned resplendent and we were able to enjoy the garden and the seafront. Our visit to the local art gallery was a great success, with all the exhibitions being first class. Best of all, my friend was able to view the extensive collection of one of her favourite artists in the Ravilious room.

After a giant brunch cooked by my husband, we parted with promises to make our next reunion much sooner than the last.

Their visit was a joyful event and a reminder that friends, old and new, never fail to delight us. I see friends most days and truly value their company. If I am able to make them smile, I will have succeeded in repaying my gratitude for their companionship.

Living here; living now

My great friend in the States is an avid reader of Medieval history and she often shares titbits of her discoveries on our weekly Skypes. There is nothing like being reminded of just how dire life was in previous eras to make you appreciate living in one’s own. The average life expectancy in the Middle Ages was a mere thirty-three years. If you survived infancy, you could look forward to an existence of hard labour and subsistence living. Most likely you would be a serf bound to the land of your lord. Personal freedoms were almost non-existent.

Violence and early death stalked you perpetually in the guise of plague, starvation, injury and war. As a woman, your fate was even worse. A bowl of cherries, life was not. https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/why-did-people-die-danger-medieval-period-life-expectancy/

But the Middle Ages was a terrible time, I hear you protest. True. However, I doubt anyone would sign up for a later period. The Tudors were terrible and the Victorians were vile (as the Horrible Histories attest). And the here bit is important. While our distant ancestors struggled, our contemporaries in the developing nations continue to do so. Where we complain about not having access to a good wifi connection, they are still travelling miles in order to get water.

Realising how fortunate we are to live in this period in this land, should be one of our reasons to be cheerful. Should we wish to bring a little help to those living in less ideal environments, we can spread that cheer a bit further.

You made it against the odds

When all other inducements for appreciating your life fail, there is always one to draw upon that brooks no argument. You are here. You are alive. What occurred to enable that is a series of almost unbelievable good fortune that resulted in your existence. Assuming that the first humans appeared 2,000,000 years ago, it means that if the average life-span was around 20 years, 100,000 generations succeeded in reproducing to allow you to be conceived. When you consider how difficult mere survival was until fairly recently, that is certainly miraculous.

Then, your conception involved the race of several hundred million sperm to the egg to be fertilized. The odds of being you were definitely against you, and yet, here you are, reading this.

Since I think it fair to say that the worst thing we can imagine (apart from public speaking) is not existing, we should rise each morning with a song of gratitude on our lips. Another day is ours for the taking. Reasons to be cheerful number 3.

Of course, I cannot leave this post without giving you an opportunity to hear the inimitable Ian Dury with his ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’. I’d love to add brilliant music to my list, but it would ruin its symmetry.