100 days of happiness

So many of my friends have done the #100daysofhappiness challenge, where you find something that makes you happy or grateful each day for 100 days, and share it via social media. I have admired their commitment and been envious that they had enough time to do it. But, a chance encounter yesterday has inspired me to find the time to do it. So, retrospectively, #day1 was yesterday, Tuesday 15th July 2014, and this is the reason why....

 #day1

I had coffee with a stranger yesterday, a lady who started talking to me in the queue and we just clicked. In her late 70s, a painter, florist and costume maker, who had just been for her weekly Photoshop training session with an Apple Genius. Her father had been an artist/painter, like mine, but she said she only took up painting after he died because she felt she wasn't good enough in comparison. Between talk of fabrics, art supplies, and her wonderfully hectic social life, she made a point to remind me of the need to make time to create. She reminded me of the need to work in an environment that nurtures creativity, to explore all processes, and to push beyond my comfort zone. Passionate, inspiring, with a wonderfully feisty spark I can only dream of having, I left feeling utterly energised. So, I am going to make time every day to play, to make the things I've had floating around in my head for ages, no pressure, just fun things. Some may work, some won't. Started with a pebble ring, my little boy loved it!