I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is."
"Knowing What's Nice", an essay from In These Times (2003)
This quote startled me the first time I came across it and it always serves to wake me up. I often say it and feel the benefits of the additional awareness and the pause that it creates for me.
But the first time I tried it, I thought I had jinxed us!
It was a perfect autumn day, a Sunday morning and I was out for a walk with my husband and son. Our boy Reuben was keen to ride his scooter so we went down to a park where there is a basketball court perfect for some scooting.
With the sun warming my face I sat and watched Reuben scooting figure 8’s while Neil threw the ball for our dog. It was good at that point but it was about to get great… I peeled my mandarin. Then I ate a segment.
This was no ordinary mandarin. This was a Fantastic Mandarin. As I sat and savoured its tangy sweetness, together with the crisp clean air, the warming sun, the spaciousness and peace of the moment, I just had to invoke the spirit of Mr Vonnegut.
So I called out to Neil, “Well, if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is!”
We embraced the moment. It was all it could be. Aaaaaaaah.
And then.
A piercing, seemingly endless scream shattered the peace. Casting aside my mandarin I ran to the crumpled boy who was hollering against the pain – and hurling fury at the damn stick that brought his scooter down.
Again his head was bleeding. Shortly afterwards we were being whisked through casualty where we spent the rest of the day. That was not nice.
But don’t let this deter you.
In the style of Mr Vonnegut, I have noticed nice on many occasions. And it really works.
Try it. You’ll like it. It is nice. And calming!
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