Day 26 lockdown 3.0: Happiness is

Jan 14th: Happiness is when you jump out of bed early in the morning without an alarm, an elongated lie-in and mindless scrolling through social media. Happiness is being excited to start a new day with many things planned out. Happiness is waking up to a warm house with hot chocolate powder in the kitchen cupboard. Happiness is looking forward to your daily walk and feeling the fresh, crisp air. Happiness is filling in your gratitude journal and counting your blessings. Happiness is the peace you feel inside.

That was me on this fine day, the only question I posed to myself was “where do I start?”

Last night I was back on the phone talking to my friend until the first hour of the new day. As we said our goodbyes I looked at the clock, surprised at the time. It was way past my (7 hours of sleep per night) bedtime. Though I have no commitment or need for rising early, I would still like my body clock to wake me up at 7 am or the latest 8 am. 

Today, however, Sleeping Beauty got it right. I was up fresh and early, ready to start a new day. Reading a few lines of gratitude and affirmations, I practised a little breathing meditation to clear my thoughts. Once my half an hour of meditating was over, I made myself some hot chocolate, poured it into my travel mug and was soon on my way out for a walk with my headphones hooked-up, for the all-important motivation speeches. When something makes me feel good, I make a note of it and like a rule, I return to it as often as I need to, whether that’s once a day or twice.