12 Needful Things

​Wouldn't it be great if we could pick twelve of our favorite things to send as a gift to a loved one to make their life better?  I often think about the movie "Castaway" and the resourcefulness a person has to survive desperate circumstances.  If only someone could have sent Chuck a crate of needful things, just think how much easier his life would have been. 
 
We all know people who are struggling as such, if not physically but perhaps emotionally.  If only a care-package could find them to offer a lift just when they needed it most.
 
The following is what I'd send and why:
 
1)  A bottle of ice cold water but glass, not plastic because everything tastes better from a glass bottle.  It would have a rubber top with a ceramic pressure cap on a wire making it easy to refill.  I actually keep one in my office mini-refrigerator.  No matter how troubled life seems, a swig or two of cold refreshes my perspective and renews my determination.  At the top of this gift would be a special bow with sparkles to showcase how something so basic can mean so much.
 
2)  A flashlight that has a crank so as to recharge the battery numerous times.  Everyone needs a good light to help them find the way through the darkest of moments!  To be honest, I can't have enough flashlights around me.  It has to be my favorite invention of all time.  Click, light, click, dark, hand puppets on the ceiling...a scary index finger pointing downwards as if accusing me.  Shadows dance across the expanse of night igniting a person's imagination...for better or for worse it's just me and my shadow.
 
3)  A drawing pad, pencil, sharpener and a gum eraser.  Okay so that's four things in one, a boxed set!   The empty paper is a doorway to a world where anything is possible and the pencil is the key that opens that door.  Traveling up and away...to the past, to the present or to a scene in the future.  There are many characters to meet, fangs, claws, beautiful eyes, friendliness or a force to be reckoned with...it is all within just waiting to take form.
 
4)  A small bouncy-ball that glows in the dark.  On many occasions when I would visit my older sister at her flat in Chicago, I'd spend what seemed like "forever" waiting on her return after work.  I'd never been so alone before but it was a good sort of alone.  I was limited in what I could do or where I could go because of my age so I'd borrow one of her racquetballs and toss it against the brick of the building.  It offered many hours of entertainment and there was something calming about the process.  Every toss uncluttered my mind.  Even still I must always have a bouncy ball somewhere close so that I never lose sight of my youth.
 
5)  A 3 1/2 x 5 note card with the words "forgive yourself" written at the center.  No matter who we are,  when things fall silent our past often flashes before us.  For better or for worse, we find ourselves reliving the many yesterday's that carried us there.  We all have regrets or "if I could do it all again I would have changed _____" wish for better.  None of us can go back so the only answer is to forgive ourselves and move forward. 
 
6)  A blanket that is both warm and soft.  There is nothing finer than a decent blanket that snuggles us at the end of a long-hard day.  No matter how dismal the rest of it seems, to curl up within the square of gentleness helps all worries to disappear.
 
7)  A clown nose that one of my kids received in a happy meal years ago.  It is a simple reminder to maintain a sense of humor even under the most dire of circumstances.  Let's face it, attitude is everything...it can make us or break us.  So the dish ran away with the spoon and you now only have your fingers to eat with...a clown nose makes every bite seem do-able.
 
8)  A non-breakable mirror.  What good is a clown nose if you can't see yourself while wearing it?  Self reflection is a good thing.  Knowing that you are the person who carried you to this moment and you are the only person who can find the strength to see it through is important.  The mirror also works perfectly to start fires along the beach or to signal the boats passing by. 
 
9)  A small window screen.  Have you ever seized the opportunity to sift out the imperfections in beach sand?  What's left in the "after" is the most delicate of feelings.  The texture, the purity, the softness of grains...everyone should take a moment to sift because we learn to be more discernable.  We contemplate who is worthy of our time and who is not.  So, yes a screen for sifting is tremendously important.
 
10)  My favorite book of all time.  As I sit here at six in the morning, there are so many works that come to mind, too many.  Some may say the bible, but I say it should be a book with blank pages because we all must write our own story.  It should be the most interesting of tales with many characters and a wealth of life experiences.  Hopefully by the end it overflows with the most amazing adventures.  It should always be a number one best seller written especially for you!
 
11)  A pair of binoculars.  Seeing what lies ahead is so very important while planning a new day.  If only those simple lenses carried an ability for us to know the outcome from the paths we choose.  We could step forward with absolute certainty that we are moving in the most favorable direction.  If only...
 
12)   Number twelve should be the most important gift ever...but what could it possibly be?  How about a carrying case for everything that I've sent?  What good is a bunch of clutter without a way to keep it handy?  Organized pockets, a durable zipper with a heavy nylon material...yes!  A case represents the boundaries we must have in order to manage our everyday. 
 
So there you have it.  Twelve gifts to be delivered that would help lift the spirits of my friend the castaway.  I would hope that someone would take the time to ship me such gifts if I were stranded in the middle of nowhere facing the unimaginable.  You know, like with most there are days that seem as if I am.  Now why on earth did I fail to mention a box of chocolate on that list somewhere?
 
Until next time,
~Trixie Archer