When I needed to arrange a funeral service, almost without warning, I thought of songs that meant something to Mottsu and me.

The first was K D Lang’s rendition of The Air That I Breathe. Simple, languid, a threnody filled with longing. It became the first song played at Mottsu’s funeral.

“If I could make a wish, I think I’d pass, can’t think of anything I need…”

We heard the song at the Three Monkey’s Cafe on Monkey Forest Road in Ubud, Bali. Three Monkeys made great coffee and played K D Lang’s Drag CD day after day. The words from the Hollies song matched how we felt on that holiday.

“There’s nothing left to be desired….
Sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe,
and to love you all I need is the air that I breathe”

The simplicity of the air that I breathe, ironically, takes my breath away.

I have learned it is all I need. Well along with good coffee, the smell of a dog, and a smile that is – and I am still travelling light.

Needing only the air that I breathe is a secret for happiness that I started to learn over coffee with Mottsu in a place where we could breathe, and it took some years for the truth of the lyrics to really sink in.