The notion of one having a “happy place” brings with it a heavy dose of explanation. Well, I believe it does, anyway.
That’s simply because the idea of having one doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an actual PLACE, meaning a physical location. If we want to talk on official terms, the online Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘happy place’ as “a memory, situation, or activity that makes you feel happy.”
A happy place can be a memory, it can be a uniquely specific situation or location, or it can just be an activity that you enjoy from time to time. I find that I really like that. I like how the definition of the phrase sprawls around and doesn’t pinpoint itself to just one thing. It only points itself to YOUR interpretation of it.
So then, what are some examples of my own happy places? Well, exactly how much time do you have?
Let’s go up north, shall we? To where, you ask? Candle Lake, of course. To be much more specific, I’m talking about the Waskateena Beach portion of the lake between the hours of approximately 6:00 pm straight through to sunset.
Inside those three hours or so, a number of things happen as I sit on the beach or take a swim in the lake. The skies turn all sorts of colors as they slowly vacate the light of the day, and the sun starts to dip downward to take its rest for the evening. One of the best things about this environment is the fact that maybe 95% of the people who were here hours earlier in the afternoon have dissipated, leaving me pretty much alone aside from people out for a walk along the beach or the odd pair or so who’ve also chosen to take an evening swim. I have the lake pretty much to myself, and I’m happy. Gone are the worries that come from everyday life at home and gone are the deadlines and the responsibilities that come from work. I can just be free to take it all in and I do. I swim for a while, watching the receding sun cast a momentary streak of light across the water before it goes out. I leave the water and dry off. It’s been a good day.
The Outlook & District Regional Park is also a happy place of mine. What I like to do is head down there with my camera gear, a good book and something to keep me hydrated. I’ll park in the old swimming pool parking lot and then I’ll just walk the entire area, taking photos here and there of whatever catches my eye. Once I’ve done that, I may just sit in my SUV, crack open my book and read for a while as I’m literally surrounded by nature. Maybe a deer walks by, maybe a fox. Apparently, they know the solitude and simple pleasure that this area is capable of bringing you.
Speaking of Outlook, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include the town in this recollection of happy places. To be much more specific, while Outlook is ripe to be someone’s happy place in general, I’m talking about whenever Canada Day rolls around. Well, Canada Day when we weren’t in the midst of a viral pandemic, that is. This town LOVES July 1st, I’m telling you! It’s as if there’s a special feeling in the air when the calendar says goodbye to June and we roll over into July. The town just feels, I don’t know, electric? Like someone gave it a Vitamin B-12 boost or something. There’s just something about Outlook on Canada Day that goes back to when I was in high school straight through to today. The parades, the fireworks, and the feeling that we’re all in this celebration together for that super-short period of 24 hours. It always feels good.
This next one may seem a bit strange at first glance, but you’ll just have to hear me out. It’s the parking lot of the Dairy Queen over in Rosetown. I have so many great memories of heading over there on a pure whim on a lazy, nothing-happening Saturday evening for ice cream with my mom and my brother. We’d go, order whatever we wanted, and just sit in the vehicle in the parking lot and watch the busy traffic pass us by. It’s getting to be warmer now, so I’m looking forward to returning over there. Those were good times.
Other examples of my own happy place include things that are pretty simple in nature, like being out on the road by myself during a late-night drive. Just me, the radio, my thoughts, and an open road in front of me. I do a lot of driving, and I do a lot of thinking. The two have more often than not found themselves interlinked with each other. Or another example would be simply reading a good book at home, stuffed into my comfy chair, with the only other noise being the fireplace channel on TV. Solace and a good literary story can be of great comfort at times. I’m realizing that more than ever these days.
I’ve been anticipating the warmer spring weather’s arrival so I can start to take part in some of these activities again. This year, it may be more about nurturing a wounded soul after the loss of my mom, but I like to believe that good, happy things do their part in healing what’s hurt. I can only hope.
So, dear readers, you’ve learned about some of my happy places. Now the question needs to be asked:
Where or what is yours?
For this week, that’s been the Ruttle Report.
