Things I Love: Tuesday's Reflection

I admit I have felt a bit cranky lately. For one thing I have a cold that has depleted my energy. For another thing the house is a mess in part because I have no energy to clean, but our sweet granddog, Ralph, is staying with us for a few days and he may have an excellent disposition, but he also has long white hair and you know what that means! 

And then, of course, there is the ongoing agitation I feel as there are more reasons to resist and to persist in that resistance. 

One of the books I have in the stack next to my comfortable chair in the garret is It's Never to Late to Begin Again, Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond by Julia Cameron of The Artist's Way fame. In the introduction Cameron writes about making a list of twenty-five things she loves. That list, which included many items describing the Southwest, led to her move from New York to Santa Fe. A clarifying and motivating list, to say the list.

I wasn't looking for such a major insight, but by making my own list I hoped I could lift my spirits. Here's my list --in no particular order, by the way, and please note, this is a list of things, not people or specific places. 

1.    Books and bookstores
2.    Lavender
3.    Snow 
4.    Quiet and solitude (I know this is not a "thing," but it feels tangible to me.)
5.    My laptop
6.    Fresh Flowers
7.    Big water
8.    Hawks
9.    Live theatre
10.  Old houses
11.  Country roads
12.  My mother's pearls
13.  Diet Coke
14.  Shawls
15.  PBS/NPR
16.  Labyrinths
17.  A chaise or comfortable chair with
       an ottoman
18.  A good pen 
19.  A new journal
20.  Sidewalks
21.  White blouses
22.  Vintage handkerchiefs
23.   Our son's landscape paintings
24.   My desk
25.   My bicycle

Maybe soon I will add another twenty-five items to this list, but right now, I am feeling ever so much better. I already know, however, what would be my #26: the white lights around my garret window.

An Invitation
What are your twenty-five favorite things? I would love to know.

Resistance Notes
I recommend the following link: Ariana Huffington