This time of year, many people dream of lazy days at the beach. There is something about the ocean that feeds their souls and enables them to relax and enjoy the moment. The beach is their happy place.
In fact, lounging at the beach has become synonymous with the ideal vacation. It may be your definition of the perfect place to relax and restore.
It’s not my definition, however. I enjoy a visit to the beach now and then, but the wide expanse of surf and sand and salty wind is not what my soul yearns for. My happy place is a quiet spot in the woods. There is something about the filtered green light, the woodland birdsong and the scent of leaf-strewn soil that brings peace to my soul like nowhere else.
Your happy place may be something different. The wide open sky of the prairie, a quaint coastal village perched on a cliff, the austere grandeur of a desert.
When was the last time you had the opportunity to visit your happy place? Do other members of your family share your definition? Do they understand what your happy place looks and feels like, or do they have no idea you don’t love the beach/hunting cabin/whatever as much as they do?
Sadly, most of us cannot slip away to our ideal happy place whenever we want. Which means we need to find alternative places nearer to home that capture something of whatever it is that feeds our inner self. Have you found such places? I hope so.