Wed Mar 13, 2013
I recently read a newsletter from a writer who flew off to this tropical paradise to relax and soak up some sun. She claimed that this getaway really helped her writing - whenever it rains (and in Vancouver, it does - a lot), she closes her eyes and remembers the warmth of the sun on her face. Energized, she then writes with new vigour.
Great idea, but what if you can’t afford it? How do you get to the “happy place” in your mind? What does it look like? It’s all a matter of perspective. When I was in Costa Rica a long while back, I met this young guy who said he wanted to move to Canada because there was too much sand in Costa Rica. Too much sand. It gets into everything, you know.
And if you’re stressed out, I find that conjuring up some mirage of paradise doesn’t really help. Dreaming about an empty beach works for a few seconds, but if you think about it, your happiest memories probably weren’t on that beach.
When I tried out a yoga class once (my work was offering it, so I gave it a shot), I didn’t find the downward dogs or whatever that transformative. But at one point, our instructor had us curled up in a foetal position on our yoga mats and she told us to close our eyes and think about a time when we had a good laugh with a loved one. The thought of that human moment was more invigorating than our awkward posing.
Also, I kind of like the rain.