people always ask ...

Life is a perpetual cycle.

We're going to grow and learn, and eventually, we're going to reach a point where yesterday is the same as today, and tomorrow is going to be the same as well.

So, when we reach that point, what's going to sustain us?

I was talking with my friends the other day about something along these lines, and we came to the conclusion that it's true what people say - it's the little things that matter.

There was one episode on The Apprentice where some really successful dude said that the test for whether you're happy with your life (or job) is the "Monday Morning Test". You just have to ask yourself - when you get up on Monday morning, do you, in the pit of your stomach, look forward to going to work?

Personally, I think it's the little things that keep us going. I have these silly little things that I like and look forward to, like my favourite TV shows or listening to my favourite songs - or telling my friends a joke I thought up or something I saw/read/heard - or something as dorky and as childishly curious as what mark I got for my non-assessed essay or House of Lords presentation ... or looking forward to meeting old friends in 2 months or friends overseas in 6 months ... or looking forward to turning 20, 21, 22 etc ... looking forward to Christmas, Chinese New Year, Beijing Olympics ... Commonwealth Games ...

It's like ... I see this gorgeous set-up in being alive, just because we get to see what's going to happen next in the world. We get to see what tomorrow's going to be like - because, you never know, something great and wonderful might happen. You never know if you're going to witness a random act of kindness or some great sacrifice someone is making ... you never know if tomorrow, the Middle East finds peace ... if tomorrow, the wars end ... if tomorrow, they find a cure for AIDS ...

Having a tomorrow at all is something miraculous! Have you ever just sat back and thought about how brilliant it is, how everything in our body works, how there are millions and millions of tiny little parts that make up a person, and how everything just - works? I mean, with so many things buzzing away, things could easily go wrong - so every moment we are alive, our bodies are functioning - isn't that something to be thankful for? Isn't that something to look forward to? Isn't that reason enough to be happy?

Look forward into the future - every day of our short time in this world - and I know this sounds corny and cliche and blah, but how does that matter as long as I get across the point I'm trying to make? - Aren't you curious and excited to see the friends you're going to make in the future? Or strangers that you might speak to in your lifetime? The stories they might tell you, the things you might learn from them? How their tales might touch your heart, maybe make you shed a tear or two, maybe warm you up from the inside?

I mean - and I'll give you an example - six months ago, I had never heard of PostSecrets. But then I did, and every week - and this is one of the million things you can look forward to every week - new postcards get posted up, and I get to read the funniest/saddest/most heartwarming/most heartbreaking secrets that complete strangers have decided to share with the world.

Isn't the experience of living, something pretty incredible? The world is full of surprises and nooks and crannies for us to explore and learn from - it's a neverending experience, and things are always there for us to discover, as long as you're willing to open your eyes and your mind to them.

So people always ask me - why do you always look so happy?

I guess the answer's pretty simple.

Why not?