So, keeping it simple today, which is like saying yup, I'm going to breathe today, but you know, gotta start with something.
I was just thinking the other day that we spend far too much time thinking of the things we don't like, or would like to change, either about ourselves, or about people and things we are in contact with on a daily basis. I always wondered what I would say if I had one of these "10 things I would do..."interviews where the quizzer (yes I know that's not a word) asks suspiciously intrusive questions about somebody's likes and dislikes. I felt I'd have to think about that for a minute. Don't really have that many things I feel proud about, and would not for the life of me recall the most embarrassing moment I've had, or the most fulfilling.
But yesterday as I watched a movie (can't remember which - don't judge), and the thing I noticed was the sound of thunder in the background. (Oh wait, just remembered, it was the pilot of The Leftovers..not even a movie :)) And my next thought was - I really like that sound. I really do. Lightning and thunder can be scary, and I won't say I don't feel the odd shiver down the spine, and the thump-thump of the heart when a particularly loud one bursts in the vicinity, but it's a sound and sight I really like. Have loved the rains ever since I can remember, and I guess the associative nature of these two companions of the wet weather are always pleasing to me. It could be the low rumble that goes on for minutes, or the loud fierce crack or the boom that shakes the room (you can almost smell the sulphur on a really loud one). I love them all.
Living in Penang has brought me closer to the realisation that I love these sounds, which frequently accompany the smell of rain. The weather is at its best when it's wet around here. It not only presents a relief from the stultifying humidity and heat that usually prevails in these parts, but also brings a sea-change (quite literally - we live a few hundred feet from the Straits of Malacca). The sun hides behind some friendly dark clouds and everything goes grey, blue, and green. What's not to like?
The second like in my yet unformed list is watching my wife smile. She has the smile that lights up my consciousness, which is a lot more potent than just doing the room or the building or the place we are at. It just feels like (borrowing from a book I have not read by JS Foer) everything is illuminated. It's like for that brief time nothing is wrong with my world, and if there is, then it's all going to be alright. I have never told her this, and I hope I will someday. I do remember saying to her a few days into our marriage that when I looked at her, my chest felt like it was full of something that would either make me float or just explode. She smiled at that...and I'd give anything to make her smile like that for the rest of my life, and possibly beyond that. I'm not talking about afterlife, just the memories I hope I can leave with her when I've taken my last breath.
So, that's two things I like....will hope to find more along the way...
I was just thinking the other day that we spend far too much time thinking of the things we don't like, or would like to change, either about ourselves, or about people and things we are in contact with on a daily basis. I always wondered what I would say if I had one of these "10 things I would do..."interviews where the quizzer (yes I know that's not a word) asks suspiciously intrusive questions about somebody's likes and dislikes. I felt I'd have to think about that for a minute. Don't really have that many things I feel proud about, and would not for the life of me recall the most embarrassing moment I've had, or the most fulfilling.
But yesterday as I watched a movie (can't remember which - don't judge), and the thing I noticed was the sound of thunder in the background. (Oh wait, just remembered, it was the pilot of The Leftovers..not even a movie :)) And my next thought was - I really like that sound. I really do. Lightning and thunder can be scary, and I won't say I don't feel the odd shiver down the spine, and the thump-thump of the heart when a particularly loud one bursts in the vicinity, but it's a sound and sight I really like. Have loved the rains ever since I can remember, and I guess the associative nature of these two companions of the wet weather are always pleasing to me. It could be the low rumble that goes on for minutes, or the loud fierce crack or the boom that shakes the room (you can almost smell the sulphur on a really loud one). I love them all.
Living in Penang has brought me closer to the realisation that I love these sounds, which frequently accompany the smell of rain. The weather is at its best when it's wet around here. It not only presents a relief from the stultifying humidity and heat that usually prevails in these parts, but also brings a sea-change (quite literally - we live a few hundred feet from the Straits of Malacca). The sun hides behind some friendly dark clouds and everything goes grey, blue, and green. What's not to like?
The second like in my yet unformed list is watching my wife smile. She has the smile that lights up my consciousness, which is a lot more potent than just doing the room or the building or the place we are at. It just feels like (borrowing from a book I have not read by JS Foer) everything is illuminated. It's like for that brief time nothing is wrong with my world, and if there is, then it's all going to be alright. I have never told her this, and I hope I will someday. I do remember saying to her a few days into our marriage that when I looked at her, my chest felt like it was full of something that would either make me float or just explode. She smiled at that...and I'd give anything to make her smile like that for the rest of my life, and possibly beyond that. I'm not talking about afterlife, just the memories I hope I can leave with her when I've taken my last breath.
So, that's two things I like....will hope to find more along the way...
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