Remember Mary Poppins singing These are a Few of “My Favorite Things.” Her favorite things included things like raindrops on roses, bright copper kettles, snowflakes on noses, sleigh bells, and warm woolen mittens. Most of these things are sensory. They make a person happy and bring a smile to your face. They are nice things, but a little different from my list of favorite things.

We could make so many lists of things. How about things we cannot live without? My list of the actual things I can’t live without would include clean water, air to breathe, food, clothing, a safe place to live, etc. But those items are pretty much the same for everyone. That is except for people that are living in poverty and do not have access to shoes or clean water or enough food to eat. In a comparison of my life to someone living in poverty, pretty much everything I say I can’t live without is not even on their list of minimum things they would like to have. I am very aware of this and in no way is this meant to make light of them or their situation.

Unlike Mary Poppin’s list of favorite things, my list may not matter to you, but they do to me. Actually, if I had to live without most of these items, I could. But, to maintain happiness, I would have a hard time living without them. I admit they aren’t in order of importance. The ninth item is actually the most important to me. And I will admit it would be extremely hard to live without that one.