A bohemian antidote to drama and negative vibes

JOY

Last week my creative writing students were working from Julia Cameron’s book The Right to Write. After we read her chapter on the “drama” in our lives, we jumped into the initiation activity—finding an antidote to life’s drama that robs us from the freedom to enjoy our creativity.

Cameron suggested we spend thirty minutes composing a list of 100 things we love. Focusing on the positive raises our spirits. When we feel good, our productivity increases.

We had so much fun with the activity that one of my students suggested we transfer the list to our blogs. A list of 100 may be a bit much for our readers to sort through, so I suggested we focus on our Top Ten or Top Twenty.

My students inspired me to share my own list, so here it goes. I encourage you to add your own list to the comments, or maybe share a few comments about common interests we share.

Whatever the case, let’s take a moment to be thankful for the things we love.

MY LIST OF LOVES

Of course, God, family, and friends take top priority as the focus of the true definition of love, so my list includes the things that I love in a sense that they just make me happy. Happy is a good thing.

  1. In-depth conversations with my cat, Stevie Ray
  2. Going on road trips in my blue Mustang, named Elvis
  3. My close relationship with my Takamine guitar
  4. My telecaster, a guitar that changed everything
  5. Bohemian clothing, jewelry, and home furnishings
  6. Fire (candles, fireplaces, bonfires, campfires, performance art with fire and hula hoops)
  7. Candles with different scents for different moods
  8. Mosaics in rugs, jewelry, furniture, art
  9. Celtic music and art
  10. Spontaneous adventures to new places
  11. People watching
  12. Coffee shops
  13. Beale Street in Memphis
  14. Ghost walks and history tours
  15. Watching the sunrise
  16. Taking pictures of mushrooms
  17. Interpreting dreams
  18. The taste of lime
  19. Pumpkins (and pumpkin ice cream and pumpkin scones and pumpkin bread and pumpkin candles)
  20. Moonlight

6 thoughts on “A bohemian antidote to drama and negative vibes”

  1. On my desk, there is a small “book shelf” or organizer, or something. It holds all the standard desk items — pens, pencils, rocks, toys, a bell, etc. AND….. 8 very special books get to live there. One of them is called, “14,000 Things To Be Happy About”. And you thought 100 was too many! 😀 In no particular order…
    1. Red Balloons
    2. Painted ponies
    3. Old people holding hands
    4. The smell of the air before a thunderstorm
    5. The tilt-a-whirl
    6. Farmers in the field
    7. Fuzzy sweaters in the winter
    8. Kids spinning in circles till they fall down
    9. The smell of someone grilling out
    10. Words that feel fun on the tongue — like kaleidoscope
    11. The thought of owning a log cabin in the woods
    12. God Clouds — you know, clouds with sunbeams that streak towards earth
    13. Daisies, black eyed susans,… all flowers really
    14. Rainbows
    15. Driving with the windows down
    16. Being thought of as “eccentric” — yep, I like being a weirdo!
    17. Glitter
    18. Doing Random Acts of Kindness
    19. Music. Especially the violin.
    20. Trolls and dollies and teddies and toys.
    That was fun. 😀

    • I like blankets, like Linus. Your fuzzy sweater comment made me think of that. I like sunflowers as you like daisies. I want to get one painted on my big toe before Thanksgiving. We shall see.

  2. It’s been a while since you posted anything on here, but I read this a while ago and meant to do a response. I finally got around to it today, and it’s on my blog! Funny thing. I read this post the day it was published and didn’t look at the list again before I posted mine. Then, when I finished, I looked at your list, and so many of ours match up! It’s pretty great.

  3. Some things that make me happy:
    Autumn leaves
    Summer driving with the windows down
    Those rare, deep conversations that materialize sometimes
    Watching passionate musicians play music
    The smell of breakfast sausage cooking
    Learning about what makes people tick
    Opening a gift wrapped in pretty paper
    Hot chocolate
    Sweatpants
    Pretty dresses

    • I’m ready for some summer driving. I went on a short outing this weekend, and I saw a fox in the middle of the road. It stared at me for a long time, and I snapped a few pictures with my cell phone. I had never seen a live fox before. It was a treat. I didn’t realize they were that big.

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