What is your happy place? Personally, I never gave it much thought until recently when having a happy place became a cornerstone to bring me back to my center. I suppose there were many moments in the last few years, the times I count as the happiest of my life when I was in a “happy place”. Did I have a cognitive awareness of it at the time? No. Like most of us, I breezed through those moments, living the dream. The necessity of recalling back any specific memory from those times never seemed important. Until it was.
By that I mean, they weren’t important until in 2020 I became aware of how alone I was, how all those moments were taken away by social distancing and COVID guidelines. Music festivals, gatherings with friends… gone. And other major things in my life changed as well. Suddenly, the memory of a happy place became a much-needed prescription to avoid sadness and depression.
Awareness is everything! Now, I have created a catalog of places and times when I felt the happiest. Some of those I have purposefully found to be in my own company. While most of our best memories may be those shared with others, enjoying our own company is important as well.
So as I go about my day, every day, I attempt to recognize moments when if even briefly, I am happy. Watching the birds at my feeder, petting dogs in the park, spending time with children, and yes, listening to a great blues band like Smokestack at a local venue, Archetype.
Take some time today. What makes you happy?? Make a note of it. And in a moment when you aren’t feeling so much, go there. Connecting to a concrete memory is almost as good as being there again. Feel the endorphins, close your eyes and see the scene, smell the smells, and hear the music.
For me, there is no better place than my happy place.
