A touchstone has historically been defined as a slate or silicon based stone that was used to test the purity of a gold nugget. When you had a stone you thought was gold, you rubbed it against the touchstone and if it produced a certain color, you knew what you had was authentic, genuine gold.

As time went on the term touchstone came to mean any test or criteria for determining quality or "genuineness" of a thing.

I think deep down we all carry with us our own individual "touchstones" that motivate, inspire, and guide us to lead good lives. Sometimes our touchstones are actions, sometimes it's an interaction with someone in our life, or maybe it's the presence of some item in our life.

For me I have many touchstones that ground me daily. Here are a few:

1) Daily walks with my wife. These walks serve as a daily reminder of our 30 year marriage that continues to evolve, the special relationship we have as husband/wife, parent, and friends to each other. The walk is what reminds me I have something real in this relationship.

2) Fishing with family and friends. The time I spend on the water, whether it's a lake or a river, remind me of the beauty of our natural world, how quality time with a friend in nature restores my soul, and that we live in a world that deserves our thoughtful protection through conservation efforts. Fishing connects me to the beauty of our natural world.

3) Reading and Writing. The yin and the yang of reading about the boundless knowledge available to us in books along with the process of writing and clarifying my own thoughts and ideas gives me energy. It helps me relate to people and a shared experience with them as human beings, while also preserving a possibility that I might have something to say that matters to someone else. This potential is a source of real energy and motivation in my life.

4) Faith. The older I get the more "in tune" I think I am getting with my faith and it helps bring me closer to God. The dogma and rituals are very real, but in a sense, they are just a touchstone for what is truly real, and that is my relationship to Jesus Christ.

5) Exercise, Diet, and Movement. All of these are activities and behaviors, but in a sense they are mere touchstones for what I really want in life - and that is energy. Energy to live a worthwhile life. Energy to matter to those around me. Energy to make a difference in someone's life or to an organization doing worthwhile things. If I do these 3 things right no doubt the touchstone tells me that what I have is something that is genuine and authentic.

6) Medallion. I carry with me a medallion that I received many years ago that helps ground me to the timeless urge to "do what is right" in any situation. This medallion serves as a tangible reminder to an oath of integrity that I strive to uphold every day. It's what I ask of my daughters and something that I learned from my parents. It's what I want my grandchildren to know about and for them to appreciate that this concept was important to me. The medallion is my touchstone for not just the concept of integrity, but living a life of integrity.

What are the touchstones of your life? What are the things you have in your life that are really a stepping stone to something else that really matters in your life? Where is your genuine and authentic self most centered?

Take the time to honor the touchstones of your life and understand that what lies behind them is what truly matters.

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