A Happy Place

I finally realized
What I've been
Missing
In Life:
A Happy Place

I don't know how
I missed this...
I hear people
Saying things
Like
"When the customers
Start shouting,
I
Just go to my
Happy Place."
I never knew
What that meant.
It just seemed like
A cute, trendy
Thing to say.

But lately I've started
To Wonder -
What if there
Really is such a thing
And why didn't I
Figure out
How to GET one?
It sounds like
A Good Thing
To Have
Don't you think
For emergencies

I searched for a while
On the Internet
But
The results were
Inconclusive
I looked up the words
On Amazon
But they don't seem to
Sell them
(Not even on Ebay)

So
Anyway
I figured out that
I'm just going to have to
Make one
On my own

What goes into
A Happy Place
I wondered
(No, seriously, I did!)
I guess it's just
A collection of Things
That comfort you
And
Make you Feel Happy
Like memories of
Special
Times
The BEST moments
Of your Life

I thought back
Over
My experiences
And
All that's Happened
Through the years.
What were some of the
Happiest Occasions?

Examples from
My childhood
Came flooding
Into my mind:
Christmas mornings
Opening gifts
Sunday dinners at
Grandma's House
Playing and coloring
On the floor
With my Mom
Sled riding
Down a big hill
(I've always loved toboggans!)
Playing Frisbee
With my father
And my sister
In the waning hours
Of the afternoon

I thought back again
To when
My son
Was born
And the amazing
Sequence of events
That led to his
Arrival
In this world

I thought of our times
Playing together
In the park
When he was small
Making up ball games
As we went along
Hiking with him
At Grand Canyon
When he was
A little older
Sharing a beer
With our meals
In Salzburg
Looking over Paris
From the top
Of the
Eiffel Tower
Soaking our shoes
To the core
In the chilling rains
Of the Scottish Highlands

I recalled some
Meaningful moments
From my
Grown-up life
As well

Wandering Coastal Highways
And the
Immaculate Wilderness
Working hard
With my camera
To bring some of 

Their Majesty
Back Home
Throwing creative
Houseparties
Where scores of friends
All had a good time
And several of them
Got to meet
Their future
Spouses!

Spending
Long
Intimate
Unstructured
Saturdays
In the arms
Of the Love of My Life
Even the
Simple pleasures 

Of pleasant evenings
Watching reruns
Of CSI
While enjoying
An oversized helping
Of my favorite pasta
Sometimes
There was a load of laundry
Tumbling along
Downstairs
Extra credit
Of course
If first
I squeezed in a relaxing run
Before my dinner.
Running
Always DELIVERS me
To a Happy Place
That I can 

Reach
Whenever I need it

I should also mention
Those
Special Christmas Days
I've spent with
My family
When we all get together
Especially
The Nieces and Nephews
I like to shower
With gifts from afar

So
There you have it
I'm well on my way
To constructing
A Happy Place
Of my own
So far
It looks beautiful
And when
I step inside
I feel
Love and Joy and Peace
And Wonderful Vibrance
I'm so glad
That I've finally found my way
To this
Exquisitely Warm Oasis
It will help
To shelter
My soul
From the many burdens
That I Encounter 

Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved