Happy Place
“Close your eyes and go to your happy place...” Today the third year medical students at UAMS were required to attend a session on self-care, mental health, and mindfulness. As part of one exercise, we were asked to go to our “happy place,” a place where we felt safe, peaceful, content... Confession, I’ve never had a particular happy place. Not that there aren’t places or people or moments in my life that make me happy. It’s just not something I ever thought much about. I guess I always assumed a happy place had to be somewhere you’d already been and feelings you’d already experienced. I didn’t understand how dredging up feelings associated with past memories could have any affect on where I found myself presently. However, in an effort to participate, I decided to play along. I closed my eyes, quieted the ever-present noises in my mind, and waited curiously to see where I might end up. I was quickly surrounded by fog as I stood on the misty banks of the Buffalo river, my tent p...
