Things that will always make life better :)

Warm, fluffy socks.
Hot chocolate.
Snuggly hoodies.
Your friends - ring them, they're clever people.
Dog on your feet.
Sticking your head among the warm washing in a tumble dryer.
Chocolate.
Pancakes.
Being around people you don't know.
Sunshine.
Lying on the trampoline.
Sleep. And if you're not sleeping, being in bed under three duvets - regardless of the weather.
Warm baths. With candles/incense. And good light.
Hugs.
Hugs with dogs.
Lying in the dog's bed with her. But only when you've just washed it.
New clothes.
New earrings.
Old photos.
Old memories.
Big places - cathedrals, beaches, awesome coast. Anything that's just so beautiful and expansive it takes your breath away.
Quotes. Good ones. Or funny ones.

Steer clear of books and music and films and TV. They'll only upset you more, and you'll think that's helping. It's not.

I am ever so happy. Ever so happy.

A Weekend's Thoughts in a Nutshell...

The thing about pain is that it is simply a message stimulated by the nervous system to reach your brain. It has no physical existence, so if you can learn to ignore the neurons transmitting messages of pain, you can learn to ignore pain. That's basic. It's how people before anaesthetic still managed to undergo surgery whilst in full consciousness. Sometimes, the pain is so great that the brain automatically shuts it out. But basically, you don't have to feel it.

So then that begs the question, why does the message of pain even get transmitted in the first place? To which there are two answers. The first is the most scientific, and is that without pain, we would not acknowledge things that needed our attention - for example a broken bone or infected wound. Just as without hunger we wouldn't know to eat, without pain, we wouldn't know something was wrong, and we wouldn't do anything about it. The second reason is more philosophical, and applies more to a pain of emotions, but does also apply to physical pain.  This reason is that without pain, we would not know what it is like to be without it. We would know nothing but comfort, and then comfort could not really be defined as comfort, as there would be nothing worse. You have to have a contrast, a worse situation, to be able to appreciate a better situation. And without being able to appreciate a better situation, how would you ever find enjoyment in anything?

Moral of the story? Pain is good. Or at least, pain is necessary, otherwise we would not know what it was like to feel happy, or painless, or good.