5 nurturing, healing (spiritual) experiences
1. the feeling of swimming laps at the fitzroy pools,
when i've been swimming laps for a while and have got some fitness and my breathing right. a sunny but not too hot day, with a lane to myself (so i don't get stressed). slicing through the water like silver scimitar, watching the water rising up and away as i take strong breaths to the side (every 4th breath)
while cruising for images of the fitzroy pools i found this story about carol cooke (pictured below) sleepless swimming for MS scholarships... Carol Cooke has always been a swimmer, but for the past decade the swimming pool has been a way of transforming more than just her life.
. art walking into a gallery and
2. art walking into a gallery and seeing aboriginal art, especially utopia artists, like minnie pwerle, emily kame kngwarreye (her sister in law), barbara weir (her daughter), and emily pwerle (her sister). 
verylongwordtoforce love the colour and the i love the colour and the line, the rhythm of the works. my soul sighs and relaxes in the presence of art. modernist works affect me the same way. a deft picasso or williams line, a rough expressive rush of kirchner colour, the sublime wash and wane of rothko.
it's a spiritual place where soul, sometimes mind, sometimes body expresses itself. where life is. where i recognise life.
3. the ocean, the overwhelming rush and power and sense of the ocean. i love the liminal edge of the land and the sea
whether it's the rough stormy winter ocean
or inviting rolling summer waves both ease and breathe life and air through the soul4. animals and children, i'm not an actor so these creatures don't hold fears for me. they are so surprising, what they do, how they behave. i suppose an expert could predict their various behaviours, but not me - i'm happy to be surprised and delighted.
they feature in some of my favourite episodes of life -
** when i was about 12 years old, we were driving (as a family) along brighton road in elwood. trotting along the footpath was an airedale terrier taking itself for a walk - no owner in sight, but this dog knew where it was going. it looked so happy and confident in its being it inspired a lifelong love of airedales (and a longing for a life with one)
** one football morning, i saw a little girl pedalling her tricycle down the street. she was wearing her pyjamas and she had a tiger tail trailing behind her - classic
** watching some whales frolic in the shallows off the coast near warrnambool, i suddenly became aware of a large golden labrador/retriever, gambolling down the beach, dragging a large clump of seaweed. the dog embodied the same level of joy in the moment as the wonderful whales enjoying the sunshine
** driving down a tree-lined street in coburg (one of the few!) i saw a young kid, maybe 10 or 11 years old, wearing his collingwood footy jumper, bouncing on a trampoline in his front yard, practising his kung fu moves
i love what children and animals do when they're unhampered by self-consciousness, i love their idiosyncrasies, a wonderful expression of life
5. creativity 
when i was a kid i always imagined myself having a studio - a tilted desk, with pots of brushes, pens and pencils, stacks of paper and creativity gushing from my fingers and blossoming in my mind
this is the closest i've come to it.
i feel it might be getting even closer.
**and, of course, it goes without saying, but it's joyful to say, my lover's embrace - arms, mouth, gaze, the feeling of well-being, unconditional love
my mind, body settles into quiet, relaxes into happiness, tingles and shimmers with joy and love
