The Joy of Friendship - a short story by Aileen Cleave.



The Joy of Friendship and (limited) Achievement 

Today I was moved to feel incredibly fortunate in my life here in Spain. Nothing amazing occurred other than the joy of spending time with good friends and indulging in mildly intellectual pastimes. 

When I say mildly intellectual, I mean just that.   A friendly game of canasta taken to a new level with conversation in Spanish. Again, when I use the words conversation and Spanish, I use them very loosely. One of our group is a native Spanish speaker,  the rest of us have simply slogged away  for several years to attain a dubious level of competence, but the feeling of achievement is so rewarding and the corresponding boost to our confidence -  and confidence is what it’s all about - makes the effort so worthwhile. 

I suppose these days with the news so terrible, the agonising images filling  our TV screens every night for almost 2 years now, it’s tempting to think that any of us not in a  war zone should be grateful. But that is so depressing and is to forget that 24-hour news, across all networks, is a relatively recent phenomenon. There is so much airspace to fill. The days of fighting for half a column in a daily newspaper are long gone.  And the old newspaper adage “ a Jumbo jet did NOT crash at Heathrow today” still serves to remind us catastrophe is news, safe, pleasant every day living is not.

My very pleasant game of canasta this morning will never make the airwaves  and never should it.  It is the mediocre every day that the majority of the world’s population experiences.   Most  of us here in this haven of retirees will have experienced degrees of trauma and sadness in the past, perhaps even the present and many will face problems in the future. But if “now” is good, let’s savour it, knowing that the delicious taste of well-being will serve to strengthen us for whatever lies ahead..appreciating our own good fortune is not to ignore or forget the suffering of those in war torn zones or in seemingly irreconcilable conflict.  Let’s hope and prayer (if prayer is your thing) for an imminent  ceasefire in  both Gaza and Ukraine , and indeed in all the many stricken areas of this beautiful planet.





Comments

  1. Vic DaveyNovember 15, 2023 at 6:31 AM

    All so true and beautifully expressed. War is not made by ordinary people but by their elected representatives with little or no regard....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Berni AlbrightonNovember 15, 2023 at 12:07 PM

    Its sometimes beyond my level of understanding that war can still exist in a world where communication has never been easier. To destroy something so unique as a living being just because of religion or nationality....its senseless. This piece captures the hope that most people harbour for peace.

    ReplyDelete

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