People talk about it in movies, shows, and all different forms of media. You watch them close their eyes and you sit there wondering what they see. Is it a beach with white sand or an amazing view of a city landscape? Is it a place where you feel safe and at home or a place that makes you feel alive and where you feel adrenaline pulse through your veins?
They never entirely reveal the details, all we come to learn is that it’s a place where you’re supposed to go when you experience something unpleasant. A place in your mind where you go to escape the truth and pain of reality.
Recently I tried using this technique. I close my eyes and imagined a world where what was currently bothering me didn’t exist. At first, it felt impossible, like a world without problems couldn’t exist. That’s when I realized that eliminating all of your problems doesn’t necessarily make a place happy. What matters is the people there to help you battle those problems.
I found my happiness among people who make me feel both safe and at home and energetic and ready to face any adventure. I don’t see one location or one memory, I see many. I see the faces of the people who make me truly happy and the rest is entirely different and frankly quite unimportant.
Next time the world is throwing a million problems at you and you want to escape even for just a moment, replay the faces of those you love in your mind. They are what makes life worth fighting for on even our hardest days. They are the people who motivate us, teach us and console us.
As I was trying to figure out which place I felt happiest I realized that each location I considered was connected to a memory of someone I cared about or an experience with them that felt significant. This made me realize that no place or thing can possibly make you feel happier than a person. We love the things that people give us and places that remind us falling in love or happy childhood memories. In the end, all we truly need and love are the people behind the objects and places.
Finding my happy place gave me an outlet when the world felt like it was becoming a burden that I could no longer carry. It reminded me of who I valued and just how much I had going for me because of those people. All I have to do is close my eyes and remember their faces and instantly I feel myself calm and return back to a less anxious and difficult place.
The media is filled with myths and exaggerations, but finding your happy place isn’t one of them. Find that place for yourself, for your mental health, and for the people who love you and want you to have that kind of peace. Close your eyes, focus inwards and let whatever memories and faces come to mind slowly pass across your mind. It won’t be long before you find the good in your life that you’d forgotten through all the stress and chaos.
Featured image via Katie Treadway on Unsplash
