Andrew Clover is The Man Who Says“ Yes”. This week, Andrew says“ Yes” to his Ten Best Things...
This week I’ ve been saying“ Yes” to Gregg Braden( American author and social scientist) who says when we worry, we grow brainy and egotistical, and invites us to think of what we love, which activates the heart and the bliss of connection. So, for your reading pleasure, I pondered My Top Ten Best Things Ever( in reverse order) and have got it down to …
10) Shadows. No particular reason. I just really like shadows.
9) When you sip water on a hot day, and as the coolness sinks through the chest, you go“ Hah”. Which is a bit like when you dive into the water. At first you panic, but then two seconds later, your whole body goes,“ Hah”. 8) The blue flush of the cosmos flower. 7) The phrase“ sally forth”. Instead of saying, for example,“ Shall we go to the pub?” consider how much better it sounds if you say“ Shall we sally forth to the pub?” It’ s more joyous, isn’ t it?
6) Sun gleaming through the paddleshaped leaves of the alder. This morning I accidentally broke an alder branch. I felt a bit bad about it, but you’ ll concede the leaves do look magnificent.
5) The grassy scent on a dog’ s velvet paw.
4) When a cat’ s paws walk over your lap. Does the whole planet feel like that, when we walk? At my happiest moments, I think it does.
3) When you’ re talking to your friend and you both stop speaking and just look into each other’ s eyes and in that moment, somewhere, a robin starts to sing and you both smile.
2) The second movement of Beethoven’ s 5th Piano Concerto, when the piano drifts in- which feels a bit like a cat stepping down the spine. And in first place … 1) Pianos in stations. The ultimate would have someone playing Beethoven’ s 5th and quietly smiling friends would be giving out cool water using tinkling jugs with icy droplets on the glass, and there would be soft sofas on which dogs would be stretching out, offering up their velvety paws for all to sniff.
Now I realise the difficulty with all this is you may be sitting there thinking, but no no no Mr Clover. I far prefer the smell on the paws of my cat which are far lovelier than the paws of a dog and let’ s be honest, that scent is nothing compared to the scent of jasmine or the subtle fragrance of soil when you’ re planting young lettuces. And, yes, I’ ll grant you that I do like the blue cosmos flower but I like it even more when I see a field of buttercups that seem to be bouncing on the green. And, for goodness sake, man, you haven’ t even mentioned the joy of blowing bubbles or how their sides shimmer with rainbows and how they wobble off drunkenly into the air.
Gentle readers, I tell you what I propose: we all take ten minutes to list our Best Things( in reverse order). I invite you to send them to me. Perhaps I can make something of them for a future piece. Whether I manage that or not, consider the bliss of it. In those ten minutes the whole of Brighton will be scented with jasmine, and will be like a station with a piano, or like one big warm heart.
l mrcloverthefamoussnail @ gmail. com
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