The simple pleasures that life offers

By Lionel Wijesiri

They say the best things in life are free. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, that statement is true. Life is filled with simple pleasures, the little satisfying effects you never really anticipate, but always take great pleasure in. They are the gifts of life that we each subconsciously celebrate in our own unique way.

Unfortunately, there are so many things that compete for our attention - work, sports, social activities, chores, homework, time with friends, family obligations, various assignments - that inevitably we lose sight of all the precious moments and wondrous beauty that fill our lives on a daily basis.

As the saying goes - nothing is as constant as change. Throughout our lives, we have to deal with change. Some changes are welcome; some are not. There are changes in our lives which are sudden, such as the unexpected death of a loved one, an unforeseen illness, the loss of a possession we treasure. But most of the changes take place subtly and slowly. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes.

The longer we live, the greater is our realisation that life is brief. Joyful moments come, and then they are gone. Among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are those which will help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. If you are intelligent, you would not let those finer moments pass you by hoping to catch them up in that illusive and non-existent future.

So, let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. Our realisation of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings.

Both joy and sorrow exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. We must choose not to focus on what is sorrowful from our lives but be grateful for the abundance of joy that’s present - love, health, family, friends, the beauty of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us happiness.

I want to see

Last week, an American friend gifted me a book written by Borghild M. Dahl. The title of the book was, I wanted to see. Anybody would be touched by her story. Dahl was born in Minnesota, USA in 1890 of Norwegian parents and from her early years suffered severely impaired vision. She had a tremendous desire to participate in everyday life despite her handicap and, through sheer determination, succeeded in nearly everything she undertook.

Against the advice of educators, who felt her handicap was too great, she attended college, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. She later studied at Columbia University and the University of Oslo. She eventually became an English Professor.

The book contains the account of her ordeal. She says: “I had only one eye, and it was so covered with dense scars that I had to do all my seeing through one small opening in the left of the eye. I could see a book only by holding it up close to my face and by straining my one eye as hard as I could to the left.”

Miraculously, in 1943 - when she was over 50 years old - a revolutionary procedure was developed which finally restored to her much of the sight she had been without for so long. A new and exciting world opened up before her. She took great pleasure in the small things most of us take for granted, such as watching a bird in flight, noticing the light reflected in the bubbles of her dishwater, or observing the phases of the moon each night.

In 1982, two years before she died, at the age of 92 her 17th and last book was published. Its title was Happy All My Life. Her attitude of thankfulness enabled her to appreciate her blessings and to live a full and rich life despite her challenges. She was an amazing woman; human, yet with great courage. And determined. She lived a great and wonderful life.

Message

The message Borghild M. Dahl gives us is simple: Count your blessings! Let me give you a few hints. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation...you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a public meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world. If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75 percent of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet and spare change in a dish some place...you are among the top eight percent of the wealthy of the world.

Whether you are taking a walk after your lunch hour at work or soaking under a nice hot shower in the evening, or lying in bed as you gradually drift into sleep, always have one moment each day to remind yourself of what you have and not what you do not have.

It does not mean that you should never think about your wishes and dreams. On the contrary, you must find your own balance between being satisfied with what you have and being determined to get what you want. As long as you never forget about your haves, they can never be overtaken by your wants.

At the end of the day, as you are lying in bed and gradually drifting into sleep, give a few moments to think about your life. “Well, I’m happy to be alive, with air, water, food, clothing, and shelter to keep me going. I am grateful for my stable income that pays the bills, and allows me to afford various leisure pursuits. I am content about having a loving family and great people as friends, plus a world with plenty of wonderful people I have yet to meet. Most importantly, I am happy that life is full of opportunities to discover new and exciting things.”

Review

From there, remind yourself of ways you could possibly achieve what you want. Above all, dream of making a real difference for the world, possibly through your passion, whatever it is. Once you give yourself the inspiration to pursue your goals, count your blessings once more, from being alive to having these opportunities to discover new and exciting things.

Reviewing daily what we have ensures that we firmly establish our blessings as a foundation for our happiness. Looking at the things we want, our plans to achieve them, and our progress thus far gives us hope for having greater things in life in addition to the great things we have already.

Regardless of the progress with those goals, we count our blessings once more to avoid veering off that foundation onto the uncertain path of constantly craving for what we want. Overall, this is an exercise that could provide the right proportion of being happy with what we have and being hopeful for more.