Moments of joy

I’ve just finished reading Blythe Spirit, the biography of Ronnie Blythe renowned East Anglian writer, who died last year aged one hundred.  He led a full life, from humble origins as the oldest son of a Suffolk farm labourer, he was taken out of school aged fourteen to work, he then self-educated.   After much toil and commitment, he became a hugely respected writer - what an achievement.

Judging by his writings and the biography, he was a joyful soul.  In the final chapter of Blythe Spirit, written by Ian Collins, there is a list of things that Ronnie described as giving him, ‘Certain happiness’ here’s a snippet.

“Eating olives.  The lawnmower starting at first pull.  Feeding chaffinches.  Watching Dan draw.  The unbelievable scent of bluebells.”

And so it went on …  

Isn’t that a wonderful outlook on life? 

Inspired by Ronnie Blythe’s appreciation of the minutiae of life, I was thinking about Moss and her walks. 

One of the things that she absolutely loves is having her harness put on before a walk.  First, she hops up onto the garden bench, I put the harness over her head, then I have to get one of her front legs through a loop, before doing up the buckles.  It’s a bit of a fiddle.

She wriggles with joy and smiles up at me, with her bright eyes, every bit of her body exuding happiness.

With inspiration from both centenarian writer Ronnie Blythe (who I believe was more of a cat man), and Moss our dear Collie dog, I’m resolved to change my ways, and focus my attention on the small things in life that bring joy. 

Image:          Moss looking content.