In last week’s The Ensign I discussed how a happy place for me is an activity that produces a feeling of satisfaction and energizes me.
I decided while a happy place could be described as "me time", it can also involve spending time with people you value.
I suggested we might need to make a list of our happy places so we were aware of what invigorates us and I wondered if it might be a good idea to include a happy place activity in our weekly timetable.
Spending time in our happy place might help keep us bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in our sometimes frantic world.
Since then, as I have continued my ruminations, I have realised that while a happy place might be a physical location like the beach or bush or a cafe, more often for me it is an activity that refreshes my soul.
It is a bit like reading a story in Chicken Soup for the Soul or watching an inspiring movie.
I have also discovered that for me, creativity is an important ingredient in my happy places.
Whether it is making a new garden or planting this year’s crops, turning an old set of steps into a tank stand or experimenting with a recipe to make sweet chilli sauce with no artificial ingredients, the act of creating or recreating is very satisfying.
I guess that is hardly surprising.
Human beings have been creating since time began.
Every culture has artefacts, art work and inventions which leads me to believe we are wired to be creative.
I am also thinking about the power of satisfaction to modify my behaviour.
It is easy to do the hard yards weeding my garden because I reap the benefits of it, which in turn is satisfying.
However, what would happen if I could turn a task I find tiresome like tidying the house into an activity I found satisfying?
Maybe after tidying the house, if I paused, appreciated my efforts and found the result satisfying, I could turn mundane jobs into happy places?
If I rewarded myself with a walk around the garden after vacuuming the house maybe it would be a double dose of happy place?
I live in hope.
