My friend Emma LOVES otters. Like, actually ADORES them. In fact I'm convinced that when the otters rise up and rule the world (it can only be a matter of time), Emma will be the only human not sold into slavery because she's the only one who truly appreciated their greatness when the rest of us thought they were just reasonably cute furry things. (Unless of course the sheep fight back, in which case Vlad will be the sole survivor and the ruler of the world. It is known).
There is a point to this post, honest. Besides pointing out how awesome Emma and Vlad are, I mean. Whenever I think of how happy otters make Emma, or of all the times I see a sheep and think of Vlad, it makes me realise that there are certain things - sometimes slightly weird or odd things - which make me happy too, no matter how bleak things might be getting. Family and friends, of course, come top of this list every single time, but here are ten things that always bring a smile to my face...
1) Penguins. I don't care what anyone says, penguins are the best bird on the entire planet. No other creature can reduce me to hysterical laughter just by walking from point a to point b. Mother Nature deserves an award for creating them.
2) Sunflowers and daffodils. They always manage to cheer me up because they're so bright and beautiful.
3) The hysterical shrieking laughter small children make when getting pushed just that little bit too high on the park swings.
4) Feeding the ducks. There is no pleasure either greater or simpler.
5) Old photos. There are two in particular which never fail to make me smile: the one of me and my brother at Yser Monde in Belgium when we were barely knee-high to the passing ducks, and the one of me with a lampshade on my head. (I was about 2, ok?) I'll also flick through my photos of Ireland and Scotland because both places are so dear to me.
6) 'Ophelia' by John Millais. The Pre-Raphaelites are my artistic heroes and this is one of the most incredible paintings I've ever seen. Plus the model for Ophelia was Lizzie Siddal, a total heroine of mine who deserves far more recognition as an artist and poet in her own right. It's a stunningly beautiful painting - she looks like she's about to step out of the picture and touch you.
7) Kicking through the autumn leaves on a beautifully sunny autumn day. Come the season, I do this a lot. I don't care if it's not 'grown-up'; it makes me smile.
8) Re-reading my personal Old Faithful - The Princess Bride.
9) The scent of summer rain.
10) Putting a particularly embarrassing cheesy tune (which shall remain nameless, although feel free to guess) on my mp3 player and dancing round my room to it. It's 4 minutes and 3 seconds of pure pop perfection; I don't care how uncool it makes me, it's better than Prozac. Fact.
So there you have it: 10 of the things which make me smile no matter how down I feel or how frustrated with things I get. There are plenty of others, but these are my fail-safe happy remedies and I couldn't be without them.
Of course otters are still going to rule the universe, but so long as they and Em allow me to keep at least a handful of these things, I will endure my servitude in silence...
There is a point to this post, honest. Besides pointing out how awesome Emma and Vlad are, I mean. Whenever I think of how happy otters make Emma, or of all the times I see a sheep and think of Vlad, it makes me realise that there are certain things - sometimes slightly weird or odd things - which make me happy too, no matter how bleak things might be getting. Family and friends, of course, come top of this list every single time, but here are ten things that always bring a smile to my face...
1) Penguins. I don't care what anyone says, penguins are the best bird on the entire planet. No other creature can reduce me to hysterical laughter just by walking from point a to point b. Mother Nature deserves an award for creating them.
2) Sunflowers and daffodils. They always manage to cheer me up because they're so bright and beautiful.
3) The hysterical shrieking laughter small children make when getting pushed just that little bit too high on the park swings.
4) Feeding the ducks. There is no pleasure either greater or simpler.
5) Old photos. There are two in particular which never fail to make me smile: the one of me and my brother at Yser Monde in Belgium when we were barely knee-high to the passing ducks, and the one of me with a lampshade on my head. (I was about 2, ok?) I'll also flick through my photos of Ireland and Scotland because both places are so dear to me.
6) 'Ophelia' by John Millais. The Pre-Raphaelites are my artistic heroes and this is one of the most incredible paintings I've ever seen. Plus the model for Ophelia was Lizzie Siddal, a total heroine of mine who deserves far more recognition as an artist and poet in her own right. It's a stunningly beautiful painting - she looks like she's about to step out of the picture and touch you.
7) Kicking through the autumn leaves on a beautifully sunny autumn day. Come the season, I do this a lot. I don't care if it's not 'grown-up'; it makes me smile.
8) Re-reading my personal Old Faithful - The Princess Bride.
9) The scent of summer rain.
10) Putting a particularly embarrassing cheesy tune (which shall remain nameless, although feel free to guess) on my mp3 player and dancing round my room to it. It's 4 minutes and 3 seconds of pure pop perfection; I don't care how uncool it makes me, it's better than Prozac. Fact.
So there you have it: 10 of the things which make me smile no matter how down I feel or how frustrated with things I get. There are plenty of others, but these are my fail-safe happy remedies and I couldn't be without them.
Of course otters are still going to rule the universe, but so long as they and Em allow me to keep at least a handful of these things, I will endure my servitude in silence...
2 comments:
Feeding the ducks is the greatest thing ever!
YAY :D
Post a Comment