Amy Cray

I am a big advocate for life quality.
Sometimes I find myself using a certain word daily over a few weeks
(systemic, unilateral, placate, disincline) just to get to know it
better, but I have been saying "life quality" for the past four years
nonstop and I think it's here to stay.

Life quality, as in the
degree of well-being. Having clean, good-tasting water to drink, having
a home that is restful and peace-inducing, listening to music that
inspires, having friends who are available for a relationship and who
offer real support. Feeling safe from violence or pain. Preparing a
great meal for your family. These things engage and lift my life
quality. For you it may be other things. There is a good deal of
introspection that goes into knowing what your deep personal life
quality factors are. One of mine, for instance, is having a piano; it's
like not having good food or spending money for other people: the world
is dialed down and always a struggle. We now have a piano since I
figured out how high this places on my list.

I've prepared a
mental list of things that brought me joy throughout the day (it was a
pretty good one) and jotted them down. Then I thought about their roots
and tagged each with a category. My own personalized priority list is
shared below:

ease of environment   This
morning in Berkeley it smelled of sea air, a field of lavender, and
honey. I made it to drop off my daughter for the day early. My commute
was easy and stress free. My clothes were comfortable and I felt they
represented my personality.

community   After my wine class I stopped at Market Hall for a double espresso and sat at a sidewalk table reading through the "Edible East Bay" magazine. College Avenue was bustling but calm and everyone was pleasant, considerate and easy.

renewal
  I returned to the house, which is in a state of absolute disaster.
The mess, however, is only the wake created by improvement projects,
all soon to be finished. I was inspired to come home to the new
textures, colors and energy created by our renovation and redesign. My organic produce was delivered and I was excited to see the new summer peaches and plums.

a sense of history  
I found my grandmother's antique Bulova watch while going through boxes
last weekend and am wearing it every day, even though the winding
mechanism needs to be repaired and it does not tell the time (well, ok
twice a day it is incredibly accurate). It is beautiful and simple and
makes me enormously happy.

support   I am learning how to pace myself this week, with many projects in the air and a new endeavor of becoming a Certified Sommelier,
I am grateful for supportive family (my wife had the toddler dressed
and lunch made before I even got out of bed) and generous clients.

I would love to hear about your lists, or how you go about keeping your real needs met as life continually evolves.