Catherine Drea: Ways to stay cheerful in spite of everything
We can’t alter time, or our route around the sun, we just have to go through it and admire the mystery.
Ian Dury was a New Wave creative artist who made music and taught art during the 1970’s and 1980’s. His greatest hits included “Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll”, “Hit me with your rhythm stick”, and “Reasons to be cheerful; Part Three.”
Ian was a survivor of childhood polio and was paralysed on his left side. He often needed to be led onto the stage where he clung to the mic stand while twirling his walking stick. A man who knew how to throw caution to the wind, he was a magnetic stage performer and had a small following in Ireland.
Just before Christmas in 1977 he played in the Olympic Ballroom in Pleasant Street, Dublin, a venue infamous for minority interest live gigs. We were fans of Ian because the Hardy Buck who shared our gaff in Rathmines (now a renowned Silver Surfer) had bought all Ian’s records and we had never really heard anything like him. We girls dressed up in luminous pink with sparkly tinsel and paraded across to the venue full of excitement and expectation.
Just a bunch of art students going to a gig, we were totally unaware that the real Dublin Punks would be there and wouldn’t take kindly to a party of soft young ones. At some point during the gig they decided to jump on us, pull our hair and shout insults. A male friend came to the rescue but the whole experience of that night was scary enough.
For fans of the man who wrote Reasons to be cheerful: Part Three, it made me wonder about the state of the world and what was going on in some people’s heads. While I’m still wondering about that today I also marvel at an optimistic punk like Ian Dury, now long dead, insisting on upbeat, anarchic artistry. Some of the people in the world who carry the biggest burdens and challenges can teach us a lot about resilience.
So in this week of Christmas here are some of my ways to be cheerful in spite of everything.
As the light fades and we go through the darkest time of the year it’s a must to face west and watch the sun going down. The warm colours and wild shapes of these winter skies are spectacular and the whole event is fast and furious. It’s also cheering to remember that after the Winter Solstice, the light returns! Indulge a little in the darkness, light a candle, turn on the Christmas tree lights. We can’t alter time, or our route around the sun, we just have to go through it and admire the mystery.
Get out some warm woolly socks or soft silly slippers and indulge in a few days of staying cosy and reading a book. Even if you don’t enjoy novels, there is a book for everyone out there. Why not join the library and get on board with the free Borrow Box online book service and listen to a book. I enjoyed so many audio books this year, including Sinead O’Connor’s memoir Rememberings, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go and Donal Ryan’s Strange Flowers.
Enjoy some lovely things to eat just for their own sake, not because what you are eating is either healthy or less fattening, just because it is delicious! Today I enjoyed some sourdough toast with oodles of butter and topped off by my friend's gift of homemade blackberry jam! Heavenly!!! Winter is the time of cake, hot drinks, spicy red cabbage, delicious smells emanating from the kitchen. Let’s count our blessings and celebrate food.
Sometimes when the sun comes out and the wind dies down I find myself walking with a smile on my face. As my spirits rise I notice that other people feel the same way and I deliberately catch their eye and just say hello. These small interactions are knowing and significant. We are lucky to live in a place where people still like to greet each other and take the time to connect. It costs nothing and it rattles a few old habits, especially on the coldest days.
If “hell is other people” (Jean Paul Sartre) then heaven is enduring friendship. Families will always be with us but the joy of friends who share their lives with us as we grow up and grow older is the fun stuff of life. The ups, the downs, the challenges and the successes, celebrate and raise a glass to friendship!
These days it’s surprising how often that I am asked the complex question…“Are you working on anything interesting?” “O yes,” I say, “I am indeed." “A new book, maybe?” they ask. “No, because you see the main creative project that I am currently working on is staying alive.”
If all else fails, the main reason to be cheerful is still being here!
So enjoy the ride and the warmest, most cheerful Happy Christmas to you all.
