“Perfect happiness, great joy and oblivion to everything else”

Do you ever feel as though the world around is constantly spinning? People are constantly moving about, doing, talking. You hear noise coming from every different direction, more people talking, the sound of busy traffic on the way to school, girls screaming even though they saw each other yesterday, pens clicking, people yawning, papers turning, footfalls, school bells, music.

You’re always on the go, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. Always have something you have to get done before the end of the day. Your mind is always thinking. Thinking about the next task, thinking about what you’re going to have for lunch, wondering if you’ve forgotten something, worrying about an Exam or SAC, trying to come up with a topic to blog about, worrying about what people might think of you.

And even at the end of the day, when everything is said and done and you’re tucked into bed, ready to fall peacefully to sleep, your mind is still spinning with more thoughts. Thinking deeply about your purpose and place in this world, about tomorrow’s events, and more anxieties that will come with the following sunrise. When you finally fall asleep, it only feels as though an hour or so has passed and suddenly you’re forced to get up and do it all over again. 

It’s as though you never get a moment to stop, take a breath and be able to think of absolutely nothing. That is what it feels like for me anyway.

When I thought about bliss, I used to think that it meant travelling to some foreign land, sitting on top of a high mountain and looking out at a beautiful green landscape, surrounded by nothing but nature. Completely alone and away from the rest of world. Only then would I find complete peace and happiness. While this is one way to find it, it is not the only way.

Bliss. A state of perfect happiness, great joy and oblivion to everything else.

The world stops spinning, no words, no noise. Racing thoughts finally come to a halt and you feel complete and utter peace. It is a state of mind that I find hard to come by most days but I soon realised that it wasn’t as impossible as I first thought. In fact, I had already experienced my own little glimpses of bliss without even realising.

Finding your bliss does not have to be an elaborate journey. All it is, is finding something that makes you feel happy or relaxed. For me it is as simple as making a cup of tea and sitting by my bedroom window with a good book. Or pouring a nice warm bath and lighting some candles. Bliss can be found in doing the things we love, for me its dancing. Or maybe just taking a walk around the block if you really want to clear your head. Lying down on your bed or on a patch of grass in the back yard with your headphones in is another good one.

I'm also lucky enough to live right next to a creek and surrounding it is a long bike trail amongst all these trees and greenery. its like my own little nature escape right around the corner which is perfect for walks during the summertime.  

I realise that for some people it is not easy to fully clear your mind on your own. It’s a tricky thing to do that takes a lot of practice. That is why I suggest downloading an app like; Smiling mind, which basically runs through a series of steps in a process called "mindfulness". It is a good way to find some peace and can take as little as a minute to complete if you’re somebody with a busy lifestyle. All you have to do is find yourself a quiet space, put you’re headphones in and listen. 

Whatever or wherever our bliss may lay, it is not impossible to find, as long as we take the time once in a while just for ourselves. Some people might argue that it’s impossible to have a completely clear mind and silence all around. But I believe that even if that’s true in some cases, we can still find distractions from our everyday thoughts and anxieties. We can learn that it is not always important to dwell on on the past or worry about the future, We can find peace and happiness in the present moment. 

Have a lovely day xx

The creek behind my house