Why You Need Your Happy Place

Life happens, and shit happens

My past weekend was amazing. I had traveled to a nearby city to spend time with a friend. As it ended and I looked forward to the following week, a few things were on my mind:

A short work week and a long weekend to follow

? Perhaps work long hours at the office

Catch up on personal paperwork

Increase my study time

Now, the week kicked off, and then suddenly it was Thursday. I had slept terribly on Wednesday night and woke up groggy on Thursday morning. After taking a shower and having breakfast, I got ready, and went to the office and something was off. The front door of the office remained locked. This was a rarity. I work at a busy family practice with a small team of five. Every team member has a key. The official resumption is 9 am. Some team members get in as early as 6 am. I wondered if the sleepless bug had bitten everyone.

Well, I let in a gentleman who had been waiting for his appointment. Shortly after, another gentleman came in. Then one team member arrived, then another. It was not the sleepless bug, but the traffic bug. A key team member was missing. This was incredibly unusual and most of the clients had made appointments.

We tried to settle everyone as much as we could cos by then, more people had come in. One team member tried manning the phones while another sorted out the paperwork. After about an hour, one of us called our missing team member. He was not coming in. He was unwell. It was time to communicate with clients. Some understood and left. One person did not. Things got nasty. He ranted and was disrespectful to the staff.

Of course, this got team members talking. There are days you start a conversation on one topic and end up several distasteful topics away. Today was that day. These conversations tank your mood.

This was a lovely sunny day in Ontario, another rarity. It would have been a nice day to skimp on sleep and go bask in the sun, even if it meant running senseless errands.

Well, by noon, most team members left. I stayed behind to clean up, musing on the day’s event. After that, I left as well. I thought of my bed but also thought of running senseless errands. Senseless errands won. I walked to a quiet business cafe and did my paperwork. They charge a premium for their service, but I felt it was worth it considering the ambiance of their office.

After about an hour, I left and on my way home, stopped to see a friend and her family. After that, I had a nice chat with my hubby on the phone. He has his shitty day too. Then I journaled, did some meditation, then slept. These were the highlights of my day.

Takeaway lessons:

Life happens. Shit happens.

The way I deal:

I go to my happy place. My happy place is anything and anyone that makes me feel good and happy. Here, it was that walk in the sun, my time at the business cafe, and the time with my friend’s family.

The next thing is, when I feel I am in a safe space, I talk. I let out my thoughts. I do not want depression creeping up on me. That chat with hubby was worthwhile and filled with laughter.

Then I journal to process my thoughts.

I meditate, and I pray. These put things into perspective.

Life happens to all of us. It’s not what happens to us, but how we respond to what happens to us that really decides if we’re going to be victims or if we’re going to get and have everything we’ve ever dreamed of. — Eric Thomas