My Happy Place

In Austin, TX I feel like there’s so many hippie acting/looking people and it’s kind of the cool thing to be one. The whole walk barefoot, smoke weed everywhere, ride bikes as if they’re cars, sit at coffee shops all day talking about feelings, sleeping with all kinds of people to explore life, appears to be all part of the hippie life that I unfortunately never really engaged in BUT I do have some hippie habits I’m proud I picked up…

Before I left Austin I was just starting to explore meditation because I’ve spent an ear or two listening to the so-called benefits of this be-one-with-yourself practice. A little hippie was bound to rub off on me. Not to reveal too much about all the time I had on my hands, but I spent hours googling meditation and how to do it. I was looking for instructions much more elaborate than what I was finding:

1. Choose a peaceful environment
2. Wear comfy clothes
3. Close your eyes
4. Follow your breathing

So in other words, I just sit and don’t think.

After unsuccessfully finding more elaborate instructions I thought fine I’ll try sitting and not thinking. So I did. I sat in my closet. Peaceful enough, surrounded by my favorite thing, clothes. I wore my pajamas (comfy clothes) and tried not thinking. Very unsuccessful.

Do you know how hard it is not to think?! So I changed my mind into focusing on only positive thoughts, again really difficult (this was in a stressful time before I moved, I’m usually a positive person, or at least try to be). I made it through 10 min. Felt like a lifetime.

I’m saying all this because when I sit on the beach I feel so calm. I can’t help but not think. Literally, not think.

Or at least not think about anything negative. Staring out into the water that goes on forever really does make me so happy. It’s like meditating without trying. It comes naturally. For me, it’s the beach, but I’m sure everyone has that place they feel so calm and at peace. For some, it might be sipping on a glass of wine on their back porch, listening to music on a run, maybe a perfect napping chair, or perhaps at the park with their dog/children.  Whatever it may be, I do believe most people have that happy place. So now I think,  meditation must be the same as trying to bring that peaceful feeling I get on the beach into my everyday life.  No matter where I am or what I’m doing.  I would love to be able to do that.  Eventually, I would love to be able to meditate anywhere naturally, without trying. What an awesome feeling that would be. Bringing the beach to me 🙂