Ice cream quote underlines the importance of simple pleasures

Ice cream is one of life’s great pleasures, as we all know. But I may have had something in my eye soon after I read that “eat more ice cream” was advice left in the final messages of terminally-ill children.

It was, as is often the case now, some news reporting based on someone’s social media feed.

However, instead of the wearying regurgitation of a celebrity’s nonsense, this Twitter content was of value.

Alastair McAlpine, a palliative paediatrician in Cape Town, South Africa, asked patients “what they had enjoyed in life, and what gave it meaning”. They told him. Then he told us. It was difficult to read, but worth the trouble.

The dying children spoke of eating ice cream, of time with their pets and of their love for their families. They advised being kind, having hugs, reading books and telling people how you feel about them. They said that telling jokes should be part of your day. These children, thinking pure and positive thoughts despite knowing their end was near, had wonderful sentiments to express as they faced eternity.

I suppose we’ve all been bereaved, and affected in different ways. Many of us have considered the prospect of our lives ending, or even had some reasonable fear of it. Some of us act well at those times and others do not. We shouldn’t judge, because we don’t know what we might do when all hope is lost.

As I write, the news cycle also talks of death in other circumstances: a child killer, a serial killer, a war. How will their victims be remembered in the quiet, routine intimacies of daily life?

For me, real heroism is to retain dignity in the worst circumstances. To face conflict and to cope, or to find the courage to walk away. To understand that simple pleasures matter in life.

To hear of such strength in children gives me hope for the rest of us, and inspires me to try to be better daily.

And to eat ice cream. Let’s all do more of that. I like raspberry ripple. What’s your favourite?