Finding meaning in ketchup and air travel

A good friend's mother is unwell and save for a miracle, it is unlikely that she will get any better. I don't know what to say. 'I'm sorry' doesn't seem to be very helpful and I can't imagine that I have any great insights to pass on that will make the situation any more bearable for my friend.

It may be difficult to ascertain why we are here but it is harder to explain the meaning of death than that of life, save that death is the finish line of this crazy race. In a manner, it makes sense to think of the one who breaks through the finishing ribbon as the winner because it is the people who are left behind, still running, who loose the most.

In ordinary circumstances, even when we flag with exhaustion, there is an exhilaration to be found in sprinting onwards, the wind in our hair, legs pumping, heart beating, passing through an ever-changing landscape. But when someone we love turns that final bend and opens up for the finish line there can seem little joy in continuing on with our own race.

So far, this search for meaning has inspired many (quite random) musings, but one message that is prominent amongst the thoughts that it has drawn up is this: be grateful for the life you have and enjoy it.

To be grateful is easier said than done because we fast forget to be thankful for what we accept as the norm. Today I'm going to write a few words about the things that I am grateful for. Of course, I am grateful to have a wonderful family and friends, I'm grateful for my education, that I have a roof over my head and for the great fortune that I had to be born somewhere that has a reasonable standard of sanitation and where I do not (yet, anyway) have to walk 6 km every day to fetch a pail of water. These things are always somewhere in my mind, but today I'd like to say thank you for fifteen other things that I take for granted, in the hope that this will go some way to expressing my gratitude to the universe, God, whatever or whoever it is that I should be thanking for this great gift of life. And so...

1. I am grateful for ketchup, which has made many a bland meal taste better
2. I am thankful that I have the use of all my limbs, without which I would not be able to do the hokey cokey, amongst other things.
3. I am thankful for sellotape, because my step-granny used to stick my and my cousin's birthday presents with sticky plasters and we thought this was weird.
4. I am thankful that I enjoy writing, my own version of Freud's talking cure.
5. I am grateful for green tea, which wakes me up without making me feel like a drug-crazed insomniac, as coffee does.
6. I am grateful to Apple for making computing pleasant.
7. I am grateful for apples, which often successfully fill a gap between lunch and dinner.
8. I am grateful for strawberries because they taste of sunshine and happiness.
9. I am thankful for doorbells, because knocking hurts my knuckles.
10. I am thankful for The Simpsons, which has probably taught me as much about life and relationships as did my formal education.
11. I am grateful for shoes.
12. I am thankful that someone invented the mattress and that I don't have to sleep on a hard board.
13. I am grateful for toasters, which make bread taste so much more delicious (and warm on a cold day).
14. I am grateful that my boyfriend doesn't snore as often or as loudly as he used to.
15. I am thankful for air travel, which is bad for the environment but often leads to experiences that are good for the soul.

It's a start.