Happy is actually a place, no really it is! Now just in case you are thinking this is ‘woo woo’ stuff that only barefoot tree huggers and people on a drug induced high talk about I can personally testify that the Happy Place really does exist!
And the great thing is…
Wherever you are, you can access your Happy Place. Some people will suggest that a Happy Place is a physical location that you need to identify and travel to. While I agree in part with this, my definition of a Happy Place is wider than that. You do not have to go anywhere. I believe that happiness is an inside job so it stands to reason that the Happy Place should start from there. You can be in your Happy Place wherever you are!
I discovered my Happy Place and the reason we should all create one in London’s Lyceum Theatre listening to the wise words of the Dalai Lama. Question: How do you handle negative people or situations?
Dalai Lama: I don’t know I never have to deal with them
That threw me for a moment, particularly as I walked through protestors to take my seat, so it got me thinking. What did he mean?
This is what I concluded
A Happy Place is a state of mind, a way of being, a place you can retreat to that is full of peace, joy, love and of course happiness. It is a place that exists within the confines of your mind. Your job is to defend your space at all costs and not allow people or situations to derail you, and when you get off track (as we often do), your job is simply to get back on the road.
Not convinced? Well, this is what happened the day after I decided to create my Happy Place.
I was driving along a narrow road, the car a little way in front of me had stopped, and there was a van coming the other way with other vehicles behind and it too had stopped. From where I was sitting it seemed as though the car in front of me was having difficulty getting through the gap, so I got out of my car and walked up to the driver who was sitting back in her seat. I asked if she was okay and offered to guide her through the gap. She shouted that she had told the other driver to move, and he hadn’t so she wasn’t moving. I then turned my attention to the van driver who also shouted that he told her to move, and he wasn’t moving. I smiled at the van driver and asked him nicely (again) to move back so we could all get on with our day, and he did.
The woman sped off, and I’m sure she was counting that as a victory. I thought differently. If this is how we live our lives, we miss out on so much, and we are constantly allowing other people to dictate to us how we enjoy the journey.
As I walked back to my car, an onlooker commended me on my actions and informed me that in a similar situation he had witnessed violence. The van driver smiled and said thank you as he sped off to get on with his day.
I could easily have been angry after all I had things to do but as I sat behind the wheel I realised my decision to defend my Happy Place had had a positive impact on my world!
Here are seven tips to help you discover your Happy Place
- Decide that happy can be your way of being. It all begins with a decision!
- Define and describe what happy means to you and then explore all the ways this can show up in your day to day living.
- Choose happy in each and every situation even when things don’t look that great. Happy has a way of soothing things.
- Defend your Happy Place at all costs and do not allow anyone or anything to get you off track
- Explore Mindfulness or something similar that encourages you to use the power of breathing
- Incorporate fresh air in your day to day living
- Give your Happy Place a name
Here’s wising you a journey filled with happy thoughts!!