Things to be grateful for

I considered writing about the grim stories that have dominated the news this week.

There are the allegations that a young woman at Cornell University was drugged and raped by seven men, while members of their fraternity discussed her in a group chat as if she were a commodity. No criminal charges were laid, although the investigation has now been reopened after she filed a civil lawsuit. vanityfair.com

Then there was the Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, where one pilot allegedly stabbed the other and tried to crash the aircraft. Passengers and crew intervened, and other pilots aboard the flight landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia. reuters.com

Both stories deserve attention. They also left me angry, appalled, and wondering what on earth is wrong with people.

But I don’t want to spend another Saturday adding to the anger. There’s already enough of it sloshing around the internet. So I decided to think about the things in my own life that I’m grateful for.

The obvious one is having a roof over our heads. And it’s paid for!

Not just somewhere to sleep, but a home. A place where we’re safe, where we can shut the door on the world, make a cup of tea, and complain about whatever needs complaining about. Usually the weather, the computer, or something that has stopped working for no discernible reason.

We can afford to eat. That shouldn’t feel like a privilege, but it is. We don’t have to choose between buying food and paying the electricity bill. We can enjoy a meal out now and then, buy fresh fruit and vegetables, and grumble about the price of groceries while still putting them in the trolley.

We can afford health care. Australia’s system isn’t perfect, and sometimes navigating it requires patience, persistence, and possibly a packed lunch. But help is there when we need it.

We’re also in reasonably good health, given our age. Bits wear out. Things creak. Medical appointments appear on the calendar more often than they once did. But we’re still here, still mobile, and still able to enjoy life.

We can travel if we want to. We can book a holiday, pack far too much, head for the airport, and discover what fresh entertainment the airlines have arranged for us. Travel can be tiring and inconvenient, but it’s also a privilege. We’re able to see different places, meet people, admire the scenery, and come home with photographs and stories.

Closer to home, we can visit the whales.

Every year, these magnificent animals come into the waters off Hervey Bay. We can go out on a boat and watch them breach, slap their tails, and investigate the humans staring back at them. No photograph can capture the size of a whale beside the boat, or the thrill of seeing one rise from the water.

We have the beach. We can walk beside the sea, watch the birds, feel the breeze, and let the rhythm of the water settle the mind. It costs nothing, apart from the occasional argument with sand that insists on coming home with us.

We can grow some of our own vegetables. There’s something satisfying about bringing food in from the garden, even if the harvest doesn’t always resemble the glossy pictures on the seed packet. The vegetables are fresh, we know where they came from, and producing anything edible feels like a victory.

None of these things will fix what happened at Cornell. They won’t prevent violence, cruelty, war, or attempted disasters in the air. Being grateful doesn’t mean ignoring the ugly parts of the world or pretending everything is fine.

It means remembering that the ugly parts aren’t everything.

There are still homes and gardens, beaches and whales, cups of tea, holidays, meals shared with someone you love, and mornings when nothing hurts more than usual.

And I can write books. I can still dream up stories and write them down for other people to share. That’s what I do in my ‘retirement’. And I love it.

This week, those are the things floating my boat.

And the other thing floating my boat is that the Kickstarter for Books in Your Pocket is launching next Tuesday. You’ll be able to see all the goodies we’ve put together for people who are kind enough to support us. It’s all about the thrill of discovery.

Click on the graphic and have a look at the story.