touchstones

Some of the exercises in The Artist's Way touch nerves, some are downright difficult, some I ignore (perhaps those are ones I need to do most - something to think about there), some are pure fun. Tonight I made a list of the things I love, something that Julia Cameron calls 'happiness touchstones'. I ended up trawling through old photos and making a separate file whenever I came across an image or a memory which I consider one of my personal touchstones. I'm thinking of putting them together and making a slide show one of these days...At random, in no particular order, here are some of my personal touchstones:

late afternoon sun

rock formations

rock pools

aerial views

shells

Japanese gardens

volcanoes

ceramics

spanish films

long deserted beaches

gnarled twisted trees

deep blues and purples

really good olives

craft markets

live music

drumming

sound of breaking waves

stroking and playing with cats

smell of eucalyptus

interesting contemporary architecture

queso manchego

paella

sunsets

.... there are many more but these came up tonight. A fun list to add to.