Life is beautiful...?

The editors at Fortean Times must be really happy as they get great copy covering the following happenings around the world:

1. Siamese twins joined at the head decide to go for separation via extensive surgery - "We would rather die than continue this joined life," declare the sisters who are currently going through a traumatic brain operation to cut open their fused beings (God bless).

2. Man wakes up after 18 years in coma - and it turns out he was listening to everything that was going on during those 18 years so his memory of events is photographically perfect.

3. A parliamentary committee report finds that PM Tony Blair was 'misled' on the amount of evidence of Iraqi stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction, but does not say what needs to be done about this misleading of a country's (supposed) leader. Opposition parties promptly call for another independent committee to report on what needs to be done.

4. I manage to work out how to operate my cable tv converter and get NICAM broadcasting for bilingual programmes - hence my unusually well-informed position on current affairs (see items 1, 2 and 3 above). And yes, I reckon this is truly newsworthy.

Being aware of such goings on makes me realise life is not so bad (fingers crossed) yet for me. It says a lot about my lack of maturity that I need to see my life in such comparative terms for me to realise this, I suppose. But then, if I was so content with my life that I didn't need to contemplate it in such terms, I would be the Enlightened One. And it's not just me who needs to see the 'comparative' light, apparently.

There was an article in the BA magazine which I was reading on my way to Stuttgart which featured an interview with a young boy who had led a life worthy of a film. His father had died when he was young (I can't recall why or how but it was tragic) and the lad himself was paralysed after a diving accident at the age of 19. He has since worked actively as a spokesperson for a charity for paralysed people like himself - and apparently receives tons of fanmail from people who find him a motivating force in their lives. People write to this lad saying they were thinking of committing suicide but then realised after hearing him speak that their lives were not so bad compared to his so they are going to carry on, or that they were going to divorce their spouses but then realised after his speech that they should try one more time, and so on and so forth. To the bloke's credit, he said in the interview, "Yes, go on with your lives! Look at me and think how much more you can do than I can. Do all you can to live a full life!". And he is happy that he can be an inspiration.

It's a bit sad that there are people like me and those fanmail generators who can't see the beauty of their own lives unless it is put in contrast to those of others who are less fortunate. I repent my own negativity. I should try to look at things positively and remember how lucky I am, how truly lucky I have been and how much more I can do for myself and others. How great it is to have all that I have. How amazing it is that everything that has happened to me has not been all that bad. So what if some people compare me to Ally McBeal, not realising how much I loathe that character? So what if I can't get everything done my way? So what if M. occasionally bans coffee? I should be happy with my life. And so on and so forth...

Uh oh. Do I see a dancing baby in front of my eyes?