by Johanna Osborne

There is a particular episode of Bert and Ernie where they go on an adventure together and end up on a desert island in search of buried treasure. Each of them imagines what the “treasure” could be. To Bert it’s a chest of socks, and when he unearths a chest brimming with colourful socks he is thrilled. Ernie can’t understand why Bert would be so taken with a whole bunch of socks, and tries to convince him to leave them behind –especially as he sees a storm brewing. But once Ernie sees that they mean so much to Bert, Ernie decides they will bring them back home after all, saying “My buddy, if a treasure chest of socks is that important to you, then they are also important to me”. Later the socks come in handy as sails to float their boat away from the storm. Ahh, the glorious innocent and idealistic world of children’s TV. No I haven’t lost my marbles… there is a moral in there somewhere. What is it?

Friendship and respect. And whilst socks aren’t the commodity in our adult world, the lesson here is profound. It doesn’t matter if it’s not important to me, if the person I love cares about something, then it should also be important to me. That shared respect and caring in the smallest ways can go far in reinforcing the bond between two people. After all, if that one special person you are with has your back and supports you in everything, then you really become rather untouchable. It’s that amazing feeling of being safe in that wonderful bubble of support and love. Nothing else can touch you when you have love on your side.

Sadly the stresses of daily life and putting one’s own needs first can sometimes make us forget that simple lesson. We can only be the best we can be if we have everything we feel we truly need – and if the person you love is giving you that, then you have found a key ingredient in that coveted and often highly elusive recipe for happiness.