It’s good to have a happy place!  A place that makes your shoulders relax and a smile come to your face at the mere thought of it… have you ever really thought about where that place is for you?

For me, it’s Haystack Rock.  I remember the first time we went to the Oregon coast when I moved here in 1994… growing up on the east coast, getting to the beach was a very different experience!  In Oregon, you go over mountains, through tall fir and cedar trees… it’s a gorgeous ride!  Then it will flatten out a bit towards the coast but you still feel like you are in a forest and that Hansel & Gretel might be around the next bend.  All of the sudden, you are at the beach.  

Some parts of the coast line are tall cliffs that then cut down to sand, others are more gradual.  It isn’t as warm all summer so it is never a crowded sun-worship spot like the beaches of New Jersey I grew up with.  In fact, on any given day you might see people riding up the beach on horseback – I certainly did a double take the first time I saw that!

But the most memorable and still my favorite spot on the entire western seaboard is Haystack Rock.

My husband doesn’t quite understand it but I think it’s because he grew up here and it’s all he’s ever known.  It’s different to see and experience something for the first time as an adult.  For whatever reason – Haystack Rock has always been a beautiful and peaceful spot.  I love to head to the coast (we go to the coast here – not the beach or the shore) and walk on the sand with my favorite rock in sight.  

I included a painting of the rock in a calendar I did back in 2011 with the proverb “Footprints on the sand of time aren’t made by sitting down”.  I think of it when I’m feeling tense – close my eyes, smell the ocean, feel the breeze (ok, sometimes it’s a serious WIND – we can talk about how the trees grow at an angle from the wind another time) and relax.  Ahhhh….

Today I encourage you to be still for a moment and think of your happy place… or figure out where it is if you don’t have a clear vision in mind.  What place or experience or people can instantly relax your body and quiet your mind?  It’s one of our best defenses against stress – breath it in!

– Tara Reed