Today is an extra special blog post. I recently picked up Susannah Conway’s (of the popular Unraveling E-Course) brand new book ‘This I Know’, a searingly heart-piercing memoir of personal discovery and soul-healing through grief and art. Susannah’s deeply moving writing peppered with her one of a kind, dreamy, ethereal polaroid photographs makes for an incredibly heartfelt read, every word radiating with so much rawness and sincerity. Each chapter ends with a little creative exercise that helps to aid in our own creative and personal unraveling. I read a chapter each night before bed, it is like a comforting glass of milk, sweetened with honey.
This is one of my favorite exercises so far (I’m still reading it). The 20 Small Treats. In this exercise, Susannah tells us to prepare a list of 20 small treats on index cards, photographs or polaroids that we can place in a box, or in my case, a little glass jar, to pick from as often as we like. The 20 small treats are little joyful activities that we turn to for a lift in the spirits or a creative rejuvenation. I decided to draw and paint my own set on little die-cut tags instead of using photographs. We are encouraged to add to it over time and I am already looking forward to when my set of initial 20 is completed so I can dip into it for a little treat every now and then.
What are your 20 small treats? Mine include chatting with mom on the phone, a cup of frozen yoghurt, a day at the Getty Museum, reading a new book…
UPDATE: I just realized I did a similar exercise sometime back here, called Simple Pleasures. Susannah’s 20 Small Treats is definitely a much more refined, elegant and applicable version!