Where Is Your Happy Place?

After my father died several years ago, I often went to the Bay and sat on a low, flat rock by the water’s edge. My body was too heavy with grief to do much else.

Today, I returned to this spot on a whim. I hadn’t planned it. I was feeling rushed, pressed between too many items on my list. There was not enough time for a long hike, yet when I drove by the Bay, my soul called out, longing to stop.

I pulled over without thinking, really, and walked to the low flat rock that is still there.

The first thing I noticed was the soothing smell of salt water, then of wet mud. How could mud by the water’s edge smell the same here in California as on the east coast along the banks of the Delaware River, where I also used to stop at times like this?

In those early days after my Dad had passed, I often used to bring our children to this spot with me.

My only rule was the shoes and socks had to come off, pant legs rolled up as high as they could go. (I had learned this the hard way.)

Kaya, then age three, would immediately run out into the thick mud as soon as we arrived, usually in a sweet sundress and rainbow-colored ribbons in her hair. She would plunk her hands down, feeling the oozing mud between her fingertips, laughing and playing.

Our son Devin, then seven, would often resist these nature stops at first, grumbling a bit, tired after a long day of school. Then, after being reminded that “Nature helps me when I’m missing Pop-Pop,” he would run off, find a stick to act as a lightsaber, and enter into his own private world, fighting off Darth Vader and Lord Maul.

As I sat in this sweet spot again today, I noticed how, from one vantage point, we can see so many different versions of good. From my rock seat, I can see the city in the distance. Closer up, I can see round stones of grey, reeds and seaweed scattered like paint on a canvas. Then there are the sea birds, cormorants, sea gulls and swallows, swooping playfully like the children did.

In just a few minutes, I feel replenished as if I have just gone on a long hike or vacation.

I pick myself up, ready to go on.

Want More? Check These Out

My Musings: Falling Back On Time

3 Life Lessons I Learned From My Kids

7 Steps to Working With Difficult Emotions

Return to ALL ARTICLES Here

Copyright © 2020 Laurie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photo credit:© 2017 Laurie Smith

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *