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melissahappyplace · 5 years

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HAPPY PLACE: What Are Your Top 5?

What are the TOP 5 things that bring you joy? What type of things give you an endorphin rush? Your answer is the key to creating your Happy Place. Your answer informs what you need to incorporate more of in order to live your BEST life. Self-care has to be intentional. It doesn’t happen accidentally. You have to (a) think about what brings you comfort and renews you, and (b) make a consistent effort to prioritize them and bring them more fully into your daily life.

I’ll help you get started by outlining my TOP 5! You should understand that what brings me joy is very personal. What works for me will not necessarily give you an endorphin rush, but the overarching idea is the same… Sometimes the simplest things bring us the most happiness. Don’t underestimate the value in paying attention to those things that give your life the richness and peace that you deserve.

#1: BOOKS

I have been called worse things than a “book sniffer” and I am NOT ashamed to be one! I cannot tell you how much pleasure I get out of the smell and feel of a book. Believe it or not, there are several different types of scents a book can have and there is one in particular that is indescribably pleasant. It’s a gift to my senses that I feel grateful for each time I pick up a book and throughout each reading experience.

As I read, I feel the pages and every once in a while give the book a good sniff. My husband likes to tease, “You dirty, rotten book sniffer.” I smile coyly and return to the pleasures of my book. Even if the story that unfolds in a book is disappointing, I feel rewarded by the world I have been taken to and the people I have met. Nothing gets me out of my own head like a book. It’s the only activity that effectively enables me to truly let go of the day’s challenges and the things that are worrying me. Reading feels like I am in a safe little mountain top cabin warming up by the fireplace safe from the thunder and lightning outside.

As I have said many times, a book can make any place a Happy Place. Whether I’m on my lunch break at work or waiting in a doctor’s office, I pull a book out and I am transported. I am fully engrossed and present for the journey the author is taking me on while the rat race goes on around me.

Fiction takes me to places I have never known or comforts me by reminding me of places I know well. It introduces me to people who help me to better understand myself and those I love. Sometimes it reminds me of who I want to be and other stories warn me of what can happen when our character flaws win out over our best inclinations.

My other favorite type of book is self-help. I won’t lie. I hate that term! “Self-help”…ick! It makes me feel like there’s something wrong with me that I need and like these books. When the reality is that people who are constantly in pursuit of a fuller, bigger, more meaningful life are the strongest among us. I am fully aware that one book can change your whole life. I read two books in the last year that were real deal changers. Last summer, I read “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert and the writing of this blog was born. In the fall, I read “Girl, Wash Your Face” by Rachel Hollis and my health and fitness journey began. 2 books! . . . 2! Maybe 6 hours spent reading and reflecting on a book led to fulfilling my dreams as a writer and better health. That’s BIG MAGIC!

#2: OFFICE SUPPLIES

I’ve admitted this one in a past article. I love myself some pretty office supplies! I don’t want to know how much I have spent on pens, colorful post-its, well designed file folders, and notebooks. I even know the exact style of pen that makes me the happiest… Black Bic Velocity 1.0 or higher. And I’m not ashamed! They just make me happy! I work better, think better and feel better when I am writing with my favorite pen in a colorful notebook. I get a little rush when I put a document in a stylish file folder. And let’s face it… there are much worse habits and it’s a relatively inexpensive way to put some pep in my step.

Yes, I am a nerd and I’ve passed this addiction down to my daughter and I got it from my father. It’s a 3 generation addiction and love for office supplies! If you come to my office at work or at home, you’ll see the nicest supply of pens and post its this side of Indiana. Don’t hate me because my pen collection is beautiful!

#3: NATURE

I started out loving being outside as a tomboy living in LaPorte, Indiana. I climbed trees, dug up worms and came home with feet so covered in dirt my older sister thought she’d never get them clean during bath time. When the weather is nice and we don’t have a lot going on I will spend all day in my favorite chair outside reading a book and soaking in our wooded backyard. It feels like the ultimate retreat! When I smell leaves or wood burning outside, I breathe that favorite smell in like it’s my last breath. While walking on the Notre Dame campus where I work, I am constantly soaking in the gorgeous landscaping work, the statues, the butterflies, and more. My favorite place to exercise is outside taking in the beauty and smells of the outdoors and checking out my neighbors’ homes and pets. I feel as at home outside as inside.

My favorite part of nature is WATER…any body of water will do really. Whether it’s the South Bend river or walking along the canal in Indy or the river front in Chicago or the beaches along Lake Michigan, I am in my Happy Place along the water. My favorite colors can be seen in the ocean – blues, teals, greens, oh my I love them! The sound of rushing water…the sunlight reflecting on the moving water…the sunrise or sunset on water…people playing in the water. I just can’t imagine a happier location than on the water. For some, it’s the mountains and for others the deserts out west. But, for me it will always be a beautiful body of water and a deep breath… Ahhh, my Happy Place!

#4: MINIATURES

I am not sure how or where this little passion started for me. But, I adore miniature anything! I never had a doll house or paid attention to miniatures as a kid. In recent years, anytime I see miniatures on social media I get a childlike thrill that rushes through my body. Miniature plants, paintings, household products, furniture, books, anything you can imagine shrunk to the tiniest size possible! I even watch a miniature food cooking show called, “Tiny Kitchen.” Its where all my miniature dreams come to life!

Miniature images are a place my mind likes to go to feel comforted. It makes me feel like life can be far less complicated and cozier. Every adult longs to be a child once in a while and miniatures gives me little breaks from adulting. My definition of self-care is unique to me and while miniatures may sound like a strange passion, it works for me so I don’t question it. I just let it be what it is…brain candy…a mini-Happy Place.

#5: GIFTS

I should start by saying this one is last, but certainly NOT least. I love buying gifts for my friends and family! It brings me so much joy to think about the person, who they are, and go out in pursuit of gifts that will make them happy. Bringing me as much pleasure is the gift wrapping process! I love to buy beautiful wrapping paper at Old World Market, the Container Store, etc. and cover my gifts in gorgeousness. I cannot give someone a gift that hasn’t been lovingly packaged and wrapped. It’s not about impressing anyone either. It’s about the pleasure I get from beauty!

I always ask the women I interview for this blog, why does beauty matter? And while their answers have never been exactly the same, they all centered around the meaning and richness that beauty brings to our lives. If beauty didn’t matter, I’d hand a gift over to someone in a brown grocery bag. It the intentionality of selecting beautiful wrapping paper at the store and the joy that wrapping a gift brings me that matters. For some, this type of beauty doesn’t bring them happiness. For some, what brings them happiness is beautiful clothing, home décor, woodwork, and it’s all good stuff… as long as you find the things that are beautiful to you and make you happy…it’s all good!

YOUR TURN!

So what are your top 5?!? What are the strange and everyday things that bring you a surprising amount of joy? Are they in your life enough? How can you intentionally make them a bigger part of your daily life? It seems like a simple question, but I feel strongly that it is the key to self-care and intentionally enjoying your life to the fullest. If you aren’t sure what your top 5 are, it’s even more important that you spend time figuring it out. If you’ve lost touch with the simple things that take you away from the stresses of everyday life…you’re missing the point entirely! We only get this one life…start the journey to find your Happy Place now … the end is nigh.

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