Simple Pleasures

Last night, one of my favourite little people, and daughter of my best friend, was admitted to hospital with anorexia. Her disorder has degenerated to the point that the hospital is now monitoring her to ensure that thanks to her struggling organ systems, she doesn’t suffer either heart attack or stroke.

I am past asking ‘why’. I’m sure there are a million reasons why; some blatantly obvious, and others that only the patient will ever know. The question I am now asking is ‘what’. What can I do? What should I say? What time should I get there? What should I do when I am there? What should I bring with me? So naturally, being the communicator that I am, I had to ask someone who’d also been in this position. The friend I asked is also a writer, and this is part of the email she sent in response.

“Has Willow been to touch the dolphins? Should be easy to take her to sea world. Has she any animals? Can you play Bach to her? I would be surrounding her with the best nature can offer. Beautiful shells, a stone. What about Buster Keaton or any of the old, gently funny dvds. Water is a great healer - know any waterfalls? - take her for a treat and stand as close to the waterfall as possible. Can she paint or draw how she feels? I have a feeling words are useless to her at this point”.

Of course my irrepressible friend is right. This is what my little patient is missing! She’s lost her awe! She’s missing the wonder of everyday things. So this is what my blog is about. The beautiful, wonderful, amazing things that are so common we often miss them. I want to know about the simple things that make you smile and which could drag you from the deepest abyss.

For me there is always the sky. Not just any sky, the special, jacaranda blue of a Queensland sky in Winter. I also love the early Summer warmth that seeps through my bones and makes for that looser-limbed walk we all adopt when the weather heats up. And then of course, there is my garden. Every day, new wonders wait for me in my garden. In the morning they drip with glistening beads of dew, in the middle of the day there are butterflies wafting through on multi-coloured wings, and of an evening, I am always enchanted by the sweet scent of jasmine.

I know my lovely friend Cyndi Redding, goes ‘leaf peeping’ when Autumn arrives on her doorstep. What do you do? What is the thing that makes you smile and keeps you in touch with the wonder of life? Let’s have a day celebrating simple beauties! I’ve told you mine…now you tell me yours!

Oh and since all my characters seem to have one of these things themselves, the winner can choose which novel of mine they’d like to win!