Recently the movie, "The Sound of Music" celebrated its 50th Anniversary. It's one of my favorite movies of all time and I nearly cried this year at the Oscars when Lady Gaga sang the medley of songs from the movie and then Julie Andrews came out on stage... I have goose bumps thinking about it!
One of the songs in the movie is "My Favorite Things". In this song, Julie Andrews sings about "bright copper kettles, warm woolen mittens, and brown paper packages tied up with strings..." and we see that the real point of the song is not taking for granted the lovely simple things we have in our lives so that "...when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad." It is very interesting to note that none of the items on her list are particularly extravagant or luxurious. It is the experiences and memories of them that tend to make us feel good in a lasting way. In honor of this song and movie, as well as a nod to Rodgers & Hammerstein, I'd like to share a few of my favorite things:
Freshly mowed green grass,
The feet of my sweet dog,
Warm smelling baked bread and
Gentle rain falling,
Lime meringue pie made fresh by my mum,
These are a few of my favorite things!
Cream colored roses
And my old teddy bear
Turtles and springtime
And crisp, cool, clean bed sheets
Freshly turned earth as it sifts through my hands,
These are a few of my favorite things!
Cool summer nights when the sky is purple,
Colorful post-its attached to my mirror,
Hummingbirds flitting and flying around,
These are a few of my favorite things!
Okay, so I'm clearly no music or lyrics composer, but the activity is a great exercise! What are your favorite things? I encourage you to think about them, write them out, and remember them "when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when [you're] feeling sad.."