Routine Magic…
Thoughts from the Thinking Step
It’s a beautiful Spring, Sunday morning. St Patrick’s Day to boot and the day on which many, wonderful locals walk or run to raise money for St Michaels Hospice here.
Seems only fitting that the sun is smiling on those taking part, those who are cheering them on – and for those for whom the monies are being raised. It’s as if the sunshine is shining ‘’hope’’ on us all, which for many, like our family too, is very much needed.
In our home, the day has started with climbing into the shower with our 65-kilo silly dog and washing him, washing us and making the bathroom something akin to a disaster area! Great fun for the dog – and even better for us!
The rest of Sunday will be spent doing the normal, every Sunday things which bring me comfort, peace and the feeling of sheer joy of being alive. I love the routine of changing beds, washing and ironing, sharing precious quiet moments with my husband talking his ears off as he ignores me, as he watches MOTD! The beef is in the oven and the vegetables are prepared. It’s all good.
I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few days about what makes us happy and realized that there is no way of really knowing what makes another tick: you can try to create their happiness, try to help them, try probably too hard and, at the end of the day, it’s such a personal thing.
For me, it’s the routine, day to day magic that threads through my life: from opening the blinds to let the day begin to making and sharing the first cuppa of the day. Arriving in the office to share the ups and downs of business days here, then coming home to the unconditional love which is our beautifully spirited doggy.
I love the colours of fresh vegetables, laid out in the shops; the flowers blooming in the fields around Peyia and the fact that, all around us, nature is at it’s best, showering us (and the highway yesterday!), with oranges, bananas, cherries and enough grapes to keep even the most enthusiastic consumer amongst us, in lovely wine!
The big things are wonderful too: to take a holiday; treat yourself to something new or to eat out but the real joy is in the moments of life which gently drift by, day in , day out.
Seems fitting on St Patrick’s Day, that this feeling of happiness is actually said to be at the heart of Irish Folklore: taken from an email in the Centenary Edition of The Lanthorn, (thank you), folklore is said to be based, “”not on the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow but the constant pulse of peoples’’ daily life, hopes and fears”… love that!
This village is full of ‘’Routine Magic’’; whether it’s the bells ringing out or the bunting being put up to celebrate an annual occasion, or the monthly Peyia Market. Have we the luck of the Irish? You bet we have!