In appreciation of ‘Alright’

A musing on being grateful for having no drama.

“You know what, Julie? Life’s alright, right now.”

She said.

My friend.

“Not great….wouldn’t say it’s great, but it’s alright….y’know?”

I wish you could hear her voice.  A soft Yorkshire accent, husked from years of smoking cigarettes yet crackling with sweetness. A peanut brittle. Reminds me of a weary hiker pausing to savour well earned views.

“Alright”

She repeated, like the word had been sucked and chewed upon, the corners of it rounded, before releasing it on to the pink rocks of her lips.

“And after the last few years I’ve had……I’ll take that, I’m okay with life being alright”

Her dear dachshund slinked himself up on to my lap. How I enjoyed his warm, fat, sausage of a body curled upon my sturdy legs. I love the way animals make themselves so comfortable on you. Young children do this too. They don’t concern themselves that in two minutes time, you might need to make a brew or use the loo. They lie upon you like they found their squishy, forever cushion. You leave……they adjust, bounce back. Their rubber band spirits hold no drama. Stuff like this, for me, is a lesson in being.

It was a long yet short afternoon. We giggled and drank wine, lingering and longing, unpacking and dissecting.

A few years ago, her husband, the love of her life, had died unexpectedly. Although estranged, they still cared about each other deeply. Her two young sons had been left fatherless. She’d lost her job too, had had several run ins with school about attendance as one of her sons struggled massively after the death of his dad. There had been family fall outs because like many of us, when she has a drink, she speaks her mind…... and she drinks often.

But that small part of our meeting stands out in my mind. Her heartfelt appreciation of ‘alright’.

So often, we strive for amazing, wonderful, ideal…..

And when ‘alright’ turns up, understated, without swagger, we feel a little short changed. Life was supposed to be beaches and peaches after all.

But ‘Alright’…. is alright……right?

Appreciating the absence of storm is the best way to leave the house, instead of whining it’s not sunny.

‘Alright’ is a mediocre after dinner mint after a banquet of shit has been served up to you.  It’s palette cleansing. A breather.

‘Alright’ is about noticing, acknowledging things have been far worse.

I looked at my own life and applied this too.

I’ve always likened my experience of happiness to a carpet that doesn’t quite fit the room. You get one ‘corner’ in place, a good fit, only to realise this comes at the expense of losing another. You have money …….but your love life is lacking, your kids are happy…...but your mother is dying……You’re forever trying to make the carpet fit the room.

The spirit of ‘Alright’ spoke to me that day.

It said;

“You thought you had a carpet? Really? Honey…..it was only ever meant to be a rug!”

So, I sat on my ‘rug’ differently that night. Didn’t try to pull it into a corner, make it fit, smooth it down, pretend it was supposed to go further, complete my bare room.

And decided, rugs can be nice, can’t they?

Snuggly little islands of fluff.

Rugs…….are alright.

*I write lots of different stuff, but if you liked this piece, you may like more of my ‘musings’. They can be found under the ‘Musings’ tab at the top of my Substack page.