Snapshots of the sublime in fire and ice...

It is the simple things that bring the most pleasure. Sometimes you wake up one day feeling much lighter than you did yesterday. As you drink your morning cup of coffee or tea; that moment before you take your first sip, when you inhale deeply that lovely scent and you feel instantly relaxed. Or the smell of salt and sea, to the sound of seagulls and waves.

After a period of gloom, a tiny ray of sunshine pokes through the curtains and blinds you in its brightness. It's those unplanned moments of fun that take you by surprise; allowing you to remember who you were before the pain - who you still are underneath it all.

Even better, is when you can't keep the grin off your face and your cheeks hurt from all the laughing. When you listen and all you can hear is the music; Pain only an irritating buzz next to its power, and not the siren or lightning it was before. This is it! Fun times work like magic; laughter makes light of the days of darkness.

Believing in magic, in the special things that happen in life can show you just how much there is to live for. You can see this in anything really, in the small gestures; someone who smiles when they speak to you; seeing a lovely sky or sunset; or hearing from an old friend. Or even something bigger...