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Abstract

studied music at school and was encouraged by one little comment that my music teacher wrote in my report: ‘Musical work always’, referring to my piano playing. Dad and I even wrote a piece of music together and we called it ‘The Lost Chord’. I can’t find it anywhere . . .</p><figure id="9410"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*rfO904vf8v4U7K4abspZjA.jpeg"><figcaption><b>My dad.</b> Picture by Belinda Wilson, my sister.</figcaption></figure><p id="1d8c">I’m grateful I sang in a choir and got high when I was able to hit the high notes. We practiced the ‘Alleluia Chorus’ from Handel’s <i>Messiah</i> for weeks in a church choir and it was a thrill to sing it live on the radio one Easter.</p><p id="9535">I’m grateful for my job where I get to help people recover from their addictions. Seeing people get well and change behaviour is a joy. Seeing them get their relationships back on track is so gratifying.</p><p id="0c63">I’m grateful for the love of my darling daughter Lili, who’s turned into a wonderful woman and who has produced her own wonderful daughter, Indi, my precious granddaughter. They are a constant source of joy and love to me and I treasure the bond I have with them.</p><p id="a280">I’m grateful to live in a beautiful apartment where I feel safe and contented. I was lucky to be able to buy my own place back in the day and to live in a great little country which most people don’t even know about.</p><p id="0a59">I travelled around the South Island of New Zealand recently and was grateful to be a tourist in my own country and understand why people who do venture this far south really like it. We’re a friendly lot and I appreciate my fellow Kiwis. The scenery really is spectacular, and I love the rugged mountains and rivers that were such integral features of my childhood.</p><figure id="471d"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*hIbUlryK3JEA96bO9KAMOQ.jpeg"><figcaption><b>A tourist in my own country: at Moeraki Beach in the South Island. </b>Picture by a friend</figcaption></figure><p id="e96f">Books! My drug of choice these days. I love the way time passes when I’m engrossed in a good read. Bless the a

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uthors who write good books. I’m so grateful for the gift of reading. I love my Kindle which has revolutionised my reading habits and I’m also grateful I can buy a book at 2am when I’m sleepless.</p><p id="8373">The more I write about the things I’m grateful for, the more I realise how <i>much </i>I’m grateful for: my cordless Dyson vacuum cleaner that makes cleaning so much fun; my indoor plants that refuse to die; food in my fridge; a great bed with wonderful sheets.</p><p id="a2bc">Friends. How empty life would be without good mates who love me unconditionally. I have some very good friends who I’ve known for a very long time and I value them bigtime.</p><p id="9424">And last of all, but definitely not least, are my kittens who are rapidly turning into very interesting cat-companions. Ziggy and Dave are so beautiful and funny and I laugh at their antics several times a day. Their soft, soft fur and their contented purring when I stroke them lovingly. Their beautiful blue eyes.</p><p id="cdd0">There’s no way I can be sad and lonely when they’re close by and I wonder what life was like without them.</p><figure id="a961"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*jI7epmTootsXgduFR2YhQw.jpeg"><figcaption><b>Ziggy’s blue eyes: more precious than sapphires.</b> Picture by author</figcaption></figure><p id="a5fe"><b>Thanks for reading.</b></p><p id="99c3"><b>Find me at <a href="http://www.solutionsauckland.com">www.solutionsauckland.com</a></b></p><p id="41b9"><b>Here’s my e-book novel on Goodreads:</b></p><div id="aaae" class="link-block"> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44280427-addicted-to-love"> <div> <div> <h2>Addicted to Love</h2> <div><h3>Addicted to Love, A NovelPeople hook up on the net all the time. Just like the myriad ways of falling in love, there…</h3></div> <div><p>www.goodreads.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*4m7C2kprODeCeeTE)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Gratitude versus Sad and Lonely

It’s not easy feeling grateful when you’re down in the dumps, but it sure helps

**Ziggy, left, and Dave keep me company in the bathroom.** Picture by author

I have to remind myself that when I’m full of the so-called ‘poor mes’ there are loads of things I’m grateful for.

It’s not easy in the moment and it’s usually after the time of wallowing in my murk — read: low mood, lonely, sad — that I remember parts of my life that I’m full of gratitude for.

I’m really glad I’m in recovery and don’t need substances or to practice certain behaviours any more. A life in recovery is definitely helpful for someone who is prone to being lugubrious.

These days a sense of ennui is a good motivator to write. I’m grateful I can write and that it’s a cathartic process for me. I figure stuff out when I write it down.

I’m grateful that I’ve been able to assemble a small collection of paintings from my travels around the world. My collecting started when kind artist friends would give me their work and I gradually gained confidence and started buying paintings myself. I’m grateful that we have artists in this world and that they can create such works of such beauty.

**Some of my paintings: from left by Amy Melchior, Alan Maddox, Walangari Karntawarra and Otis Frizzell.** Picture by author

I’m grateful for music! If I had to go without music I think I would rather die. As I write this Philip Glass’s Blood Oath is playing on my sound system and I marvel at his ingenuity in creating something so heart-achingly lovely.

I grew up in a home that was constantly filled with music and am grateful to my father for this and his collection of long-playing records — Sibelius, Shostakovich, Gershwin et al. I studied music at school and was encouraged by one little comment that my music teacher wrote in my report: ‘Musical work always’, referring to my piano playing. Dad and I even wrote a piece of music together and we called it ‘The Lost Chord’. I can’t find it anywhere . . .

**My dad.** Picture by Belinda Wilson, my sister.

I’m grateful I sang in a choir and got high when I was able to hit the high notes. We practiced the ‘Alleluia Chorus’ from Handel’s Messiah for weeks in a church choir and it was a thrill to sing it live on the radio one Easter.

I’m grateful for my job where I get to help people recover from their addictions. Seeing people get well and change behaviour is a joy. Seeing them get their relationships back on track is so gratifying.

I’m grateful for the love of my darling daughter Lili, who’s turned into a wonderful woman and who has produced her own wonderful daughter, Indi, my precious granddaughter. They are a constant source of joy and love to me and I treasure the bond I have with them.

I’m grateful to live in a beautiful apartment where I feel safe and contented. I was lucky to be able to buy my own place back in the day and to live in a great little country which most people don’t even know about.

I travelled around the South Island of New Zealand recently and was grateful to be a tourist in my own country and understand why people who do venture this far south really like it. We’re a friendly lot and I appreciate my fellow Kiwis. The scenery really is spectacular, and I love the rugged mountains and rivers that were such integral features of my childhood.

**A tourist in my own country: at Moeraki Beach in the South Island.** Picture by a friend

Books! My drug of choice these days. I love the way time passes when I’m engrossed in a good read. Bless the authors who write good books. I’m so grateful for the gift of reading. I love my Kindle which has revolutionised my reading habits and I’m also grateful I can buy a book at 2am when I’m sleepless.

The more I write about the things I’m grateful for, the more I realise how much I’m grateful for: my cordless Dyson vacuum cleaner that makes cleaning so much fun; my indoor plants that refuse to die; food in my fridge; a great bed with wonderful sheets.

Friends. How empty life would be without good mates who love me unconditionally. I have some very good friends who I’ve known for a very long time and I value them bigtime.

And last of all, but definitely not least, are my kittens who are rapidly turning into very interesting cat-companions. Ziggy and Dave are so beautiful and funny and I laugh at their antics several times a day. Their soft, soft fur and their contented purring when I stroke them lovingly. Their beautiful blue eyes.

There’s no way I can be sad and lonely when they’re close by and I wonder what life was like without them.

**Ziggy’s blue eyes: more precious than sapphires.** Picture by author

Thanks for reading.

Find me at www.solutionsauckland.com

Here’s my e-book novel on Goodreads: