The Power of a Happy Place

Watching news or even scrolling through social media these days seems like entering a whole other world. I mean what is happening?!? 2020 seems to throw all kinds of curveballs our way and we have to learn how to adapt and survive. And we’re not even half way through the year!

Bad and sad news corner us as we try to stay positive. Tension builds and people get anxious. So what better way to reboot yourself and refresh your mind than visiting your happy place.

Your personal happy place

According to Cambridge dictionary a happy place is a memory, situation, or activity that makes you feel happy. Ask yourself this: do you have one? Is it the look in your kid’s eyes? Is it somewhere exotic? Does it have music? Is it in your favourite season of the year? Does it have other people involved? Does it have a certain smell? Is it real?

Although the dictionary describes a happy place as something you might experience, I’d say a happy place is whatever or wherever as long as thinking about it makes you happy. It doesn’t have to be a certain memory that you relive when you’re sad or distressed. A happy place shouldn’t be something that has been. It could as well be something to hope for or dream about in the future.

For instance one of my happy places is the beautiful Santorini island in Greece. I’ve never been there. But there’s something about those blue rooftops and white stairs with a sea view that make me happy and lift my spirits. Whatever it is — your happy place is one of a kind, just like you. It’s yours. It’s a place you visit to find balance again.

The more the merrier

As the years go by people seem to dwell on their memories. That’s one way to create your own happy places. As in having more than one happy place. Don’t worry though if you only have one, you’re not going to wear yours out.

As for me, I have many happy places. They resurface whenever a certain mood hits me. Only one of them is an actual location that I can visit. There’s just something about this place that clears my mind and gives me strength to go on. Sometimes a certain kind of chocolate takes me to my happy place.

Of course, for most people you could find at least one childhood memory that you might consider as your happy place. The truth is whenever you think about something that makes you very happy and just for a moment forget your troubles — that’s it. That’s your happy place. Let me take you to one of mine, just for a moment.

I wake up in the morning and the house is quiet. Everybody else is still asleep. I tiptoe into the kitchen and make myself a hot cup of fresh coffee. That smell is divine… I take my cup and quietly leave the house to sit on the front porch. Alone. I take in a deep breath of fresh summer air. I close my eyes and enjoy the song of swallow birds. That’s all I can hear. I slowly sip my coffee and watch as the sun rises higher in the sky. I stand up and take my drink with me as I step on the soft grass. Barefoot. The feeling of dew covered grass is so refreshing. It’s peaceful. It’s serene.

The art of Zoning Out

A happy place is very individual and unique. And it’s only up to you whether you want to visit it and when. It could be a part of your daily meditation. It could also be the three spare minutes you have during the day.

My husband’s grandfather, may he rest in peace, had this amazing skill to zone out (or space out) whenever he needed. Whether it was his nagging wife or simply a boring conversation, he knew how to switch himself off. This wasn’t a skill he was born with, it was something he developed during the military occupation. He never said what he was thinking about and frankly no-one ever asked. But I suspect he had his own happy place.

Sometimes I wish I had this kind of amazing skill to just zone out for a moment whenever the surrounding gets too intense, and regroup myself.

The power of your mind

A happy place depends greatly on your mind and imagination. If you are not used to going to your happy place it might seem weird to do so at first. But as you try to zone out and find your happy place more often, you’ll understand how important it is to have at least one. It’s all in your head.

You don’t have to share it if you don’t want to. You don’t have to explain yourself or your thoughts to anyone. But here’s one bit of advice — don’t say it’s weird or stupid until you try it out. We all need to get away from everyday problems, even if it’s just for a moment. You owe your beautiful mind some rest in your own happy place.