Here’s a thought-provoking anecdote about when we visited the Grand Canyon several years ago. I was gobsmacked by the sheer size of the gaping crevice. It sent shivers up my spine and for the first few minutes I dared not go anywhere near the edge.

Firstly there are very few barriers between you and a very, very long fall and secondly they are deliberately low so as not to obstruct the superlative view. This I understand and agree with, however I found it a little perturbing when some of my fellow visitors were happy to climb on the small wall. They seemed completely oblivious to Mother Nature’s force of gravity or the Human Body’s ineptitude when the brain gets oxygen starved, even by a small amount.

A very young girl’s smiles turned to tears as her pushchair neared the edge and she realized the magnitude of the Canyon. You could see the panic in her eyes. Her parents quickly whisked her away and tried to console her.

So when I read the story about an adult man jumping from one ledge to the next and falling to his death, I was perplexed. I understand that there are accidents and suicides at the canyon every year. It is an ongoing problem and begs the question, should we interfere with beauty? Is it worth barricading off the whole thing so that one can only experience it by helicopter or from a great distance?

In my view the answer is clearly no. We are all responsible for our own lives. This place is magnificent and will put your ego into perspective once you have experienced it’s aura. Those who chose to ignore it’s warnings will end up on the wrong side of its magnificence. So just be careful and appreciate its beauty without taking its dangerous edge for granted.

So after much contemplation about where to have lunch, we decided to just take a picnic down to the docks and enjoy this gift of a day. We prepared our sandwiches and a little salad and off we went.

On our brief walk down to the pier, we stopped at a local corner shop to get some drinks. The familiar cashier behind the till greeted us with the usual, “nice to see you”. We mentioned our little romantic plan and how old-fashioned but quaint it was. A customer in the queue behind us quipped that picnics never go out of style and the more the merrier. We smiled and nodded in agreement, as we went on our way towards the river.

The weather was still beautiful when we arrived at the dock’s edge and a cool breeze kept the temperature at the perfect level. As we walked down to a spot to have our repast we were greeted by smiles and an occasional “hellos”. It seems as if this warm day had brought out the cooler and more laid back attitude in everyone.

It’s small moments like these that enrich our lives and therefore deserves a prominent position on the list of stuff we like to do.