I’ve adapted my own concept of a Happy Place. Leaving out the Zen, enlightened, and mystical schools of thought, I think of it as a place you visit in person and revisit in your mind to create tranquility in body, soul, and spirit.
(My favorite t-shirt EVER bought by dear friend, Kirsti)
During hard times, you borrow from past happy to face present unhappy using
- Memories
- Pictures
- Souvenirs
- Scents
- Tastes
- Sounds
These things evoke a time and/or place we felt loved, secure, and peaceful. It reminds us that life isn’t always hard, painful, and grievous. You soothe your heart and mind with what soothes you best. It doesn’t take long, either. You look at a few pictures, listen to a song, or rub a smooth stone between your fingers.
My Happy Places are usually outside places.
Any place in Montana is a Happy Place. A sagebrush, Prickly Pear cactus, or a Ponderosa pine tree brings back the contentment and joy of a wonderful childhood. Because I was happy in Montana, Montana makes me happy.
Any crick (that’s "creek" to you non-Montanans) I can stick my feet in, no matter how quickly my toes freeze from the melted snow, is a Happy Place. Actually any place with water is a Happy Place. Let me clarify, outside water, not a flooding toilet or broken pipe, kinda’ water.
Any place with rocks to pick can be a Happy Place. Not picking rocks out of fields like the farmers in North Dakota, but the "Look! I found an agate!" kinda’ rock picking.
My house is scattered with rocks, branches, sea glass, shells, and driftwood I’ve collected from waterside visits.
My daily Happy Place is my Jeep. In fact, that’s her name. When Scott and I celebrated our 20th anniversary I’d just finished my first year of thyroid cancer treatment, (surgery, radioactive iodine, and Hyper-Hell) and had suffered a miscarriage. He surprised me and bought my dream vehicle, a Jeep Wrangler. I wasn’t thrilled because of the dream-come-true vehicle, I was thrilled because I was married to a man who made my dreams come true. He loved me and supported me through the hardest year of my life. Climbing into my Jeep is like climbing into his love. It surrounds me. It keeps me safe.
But, more than Montana, a mountain stream, a beach full of agates, and more than my Jeep, there’s a more beloved place.
The Lord invited Moses up the mountain to talk with Him. Moses couldn’t look directly on Lord’s face, but Moses could hear His voice and be in His presence. The Lord told Moses, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
It was holy because the Lord was there. I’m in awe that today we can still enter into the Lord’s presence. We don’t have to follow any ceremonies, climb a mountain in sandals, or enter a special building. Our faith in His Son gives us full access to the holy, mighty, Heavenly Father, anytime, anyplace.
I can be in His presence when I’m in Montana, wading in a mountain stream, picking rocks on a beach, or driving in my Jeep.
I pray, He listens.
I ask, He answers.
I confess, He forgives.
I weep, He comforts.
My Happiest Place is when I am in His presence.
Where are your physical, spiritual, and/or emotional Happy Places?
At this point, my happy place is anywhere there isn’t kids…
I am physically happy in the kitchen, spiritually in the shower 😉 Emotionally…eating…which is a problem
I bet winters are SUPER LONG in Alaska! I used to get cabin fever in North Dakota, but there the sun would shine every day! I love that your Happy Place is in the kitchen and that you serve others and make them happy. I can’t believe you are in charge of meals at your church, wheelchair and all. Your perseverance makes me happy! 🙂
My “Happy Places” are very similar to yours. I love the ocean, I can never resist putting my feet in no matter the temp. 🙂 Another is the western states, I grew up loving the wild country and it makes me smile and know how small I am and how BIG and awesome God is. This week my happy place was my big leather chair where God just assured me of His love and care for me even though I am a mess. Isaiah 58:11
My ‘Happy Place’ is my home nestled back in the woods away from the hustle and bustle of cities and suburbia. Right now there is snow everywhere you look. Piles of deep snow even on the driveway since you can never plow right down to the bottom as it is mostly dirt and less gravel. In the summer, three miles down the small mountain to where two rivers forge together is another happy place. Then, there are water falls around here that are happy places to go.
Judy, that sounds beautiful! I’m glad you’re happy, even though piled under snow. 🙂 We always longed to lived in the country, and the Lord chose to put us in a very big city with a lot of traffic. But, He met us here and gave us purpose and inspiration, even though it wasn’t our dream. So, maybe I could visit you in your Happy Place. If you come here, I’ll drive you around in MY Happy Place. 🙂
Well, I’ve watched enough old western movies to know what “crick” means. 🙂
You’re too cute in your Jeep.
My “Happy Places” are mostly outside too, which is why I find a lot of comfort in
Psalm 121.
“I will lift my eyes to the hills –
from whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth…”
He has given us the beauty of the earth to enjoy but also to show His magnificence and His power… which is incredibly safe = joy in the Lord = happy place.
Tandis, I LOVE that Psalm. It is one of my favorites. I’m so glad you shared that. It made me very HAPPY. 🙂