High on Happiness

Posts Tagged ‘childhood memories’

One day, curious to see what I would find, I bought a ticket to the land of childhood memories.  I cozied into a big, soft chair, closed my eyes, and sent my mind back into time.  I asked myself, “What was I doing when I was six?”  And before I knew it, I was remembering my family’s living room.

There was Dad’s favorite chair, with the pipe stand next to it, and I remembered the fragrance of his Cherry Blend tobacco.  There was the big floor radio, where my mother and I listened to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.  It must have been a big event at the time.  I remembered having View Master slides of it afterwards and coloring books.

Then I saw feathers filling the room’s air and remembered the pillow fight Carol and I got into, and how aghast my poor mother was at the sight of feathers everywhere.

I don’t know how long my trip back to childhood lasted, but it brought back memories I never knew were there:  Details of the neighborhood, and of the neighbors, toys I loved, Aunt Katherine’s parakeets and the doll outfits she crocheted, the big fur hat that I wore in winter, my dad cooking blueberry pancakes, my mother decorating my Valentine’s box with red crepe paper and hearts cut from paper doilies, the treadle sewing machine, my grandmother singing as she ironed clothes, the blisters I got on my hands from playing on the jungle gym at school.  It was a glorious adventure.

A friend of mine who spent September writing lists every evening of things she appreciated during the day says she’s going to spend October recalling good memories.  What a grand happiness practice!  If her excursion into the past is as enriching as mine was, she will be thrilled that she took the time for it.

And if you take the time, you’ll be thrilled, too, and amazed at how much you can recall.  All it takes is a little slice of quiet time and a comfortable chair.  Then pick a trigger:  remember where you lived, or think about your first pet or your favorite teacher, of your first bus ride or the family car.  The rest will unfold from there.

Your mind is a vast country of unexplored memories.  Buy yourself a ticket to it some Saturday afternoon and see the sights.  See if you don’t come back high on happiness, feeling richer and bigger and whole.