What reminds you of serenity?

... or anything peaceful? I need to think of relaxing types of things such as aroma therapy but the brain doesn't storm enough on it's own so I'm looking for your input. Thanks and I hope you're having a super day
:smile: .

Kathy
 

WhymeMom?

No real answers to life..
When I think back on a "heavenly" moment in my life, it was when I was about 9 yrs. old and I had taken a big fluffy comforter (handsewn by my grandma) and a pillow and I laid down in the yard and just watched the clouds go by. It was a beautiful warm day and a slight breeze, no bugs and just big beautiful clouds floating by.......a brief, but wonderful moment of peace.
:flower:
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
WhymeMom - that is a beautiful memory.

I think of the beach. Believe it or not, I've only been to the ocean once and it was when I was severely depressed. My friends and I would go to the beach and watch the sun come up - and it was completely deserted. Hearing the serf, feeling the breeze on my face, and looking out into endlessness. I remember feeling so small compared to the vastness and found comfort in that..in knowing that even though my problems seemed so huge - insurmountable - they were just a pebble.

After we got home, a friend gave me a sound machine that played different sounds - rainfall, forest, etc - and I played the ocean sounds every night.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Wow, whyme and heather, those are the first two thoughts that popped into my head.

The first was lying on a blanket in my yard when I was a kid and just listening to the birds that seem to fade away in the distance, closing my eyes and breathing in the summer smells, and watching the clouds drift by. That was so relaxing.

The second thing that popped into my head was sitting at the beach around dinnertime, after all the crowds have left and the heat isn't quite so intense. I spent many sunsets sitting at the beach, just being one with nature.

And the third, believe it or not, was taking a walk real late at night after a big snow storm. The roads are so quiet and your steps fall soundlessly on the ground. All you can hear is the sound of your breath. Everything is so peaceful.

Nature always has a way of calming me more than anything else.
 

nvts

Active Member
7:16 a.m. every Mon-Friday. That's when (for the last 2 weeks) <u>EVERYONE</u> is out of the house. I sit down with my cup of coffee that is <u>HOT</u> and take a look at the board. :smile:

I totally believe that Monday is the beginning of a long weekend!

:devil:

And sometimes when they're all gone, I take a hot bath, coffee, the stereo and a bath tea bag (herbal rememdies that my sister makes) and unwind.

Ahhhhhhhh

Beth
 
My parents and my brother and I stayed in a lodge on a lake in the woods when I was 12 or so. I got up one morning before everyone else and took a rowboat out on the lake. It was a crisp morning, foggy and very very quiet. I just drifted for a long time.

Years later in college I participated in a field study in marine science. We did 5 hour shifts in a boat anchored in an estuary, collecting water samples and measuring temperature, salinity, and current. One of my shifts was in the early morning twilight, again foggy and very quiet. As we're sitting in the boat (a grad student and I) in between samples a big heron glided by in absolute silence, wings outstretched, and a pair of dolphins swimming just underneath. Absolutely breathtaking.

So a small boat in the predawn light, on a chilly, foggy, silent morning, is where I go in my mind for serenity.
 
For me, the ocean is serenity. I'm fortunate because I don't live far from the water. I especially like being at the shore on a warm, sunny, early Autumn day - No one in sight - Just me sitting on a favorite flat rock over the water - Listening to the waves crashing around me - Watching the boats in the distance - Listening to the seagulls - Breathing the salt air - I never tire of the ocean and it never ceases to amaze me. After spending time at the ocean, I always feel a certain calmness and peacefulness that is lacking in so much of my day to day existence.

Serenity is watching the snow fall, curled up in a favorite chair with my favorite sanity saver, difficult child cat, a cup of tea, and a good book. Serenity is listening to the crackling fire, the wind outside, and my cat purring... No other sounds at all...

Like Jo, being outside, experiencing nature in many different ways, is serenity for me.

Ok, I've got to return to reality!!! My clothes dryer just stopped. I've got to get the clothes out ASAP!!! I REFUSE to iron!!!

Thanks for posting this. I enjoyed several minutes of peace...WFEN
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
Janet, you could come here this weekend. We're supposed to get 4-8 inches on Saturday. :smile:
 

mrscatinthehat

Seussical
My river (ok well it is the Mississippi so others might claim it also) gives me peace. husband even understands that I get my strength from there. If I can't have it then another body of water will work but I always come back at some point to my River.

Beth
 

meowbunny

New Member
Any stream in a mountain. My cat curled up next to me purring away. Sitting on a rock with my feet dangling over the edge on a mountain watching the sunset. Taking a sleeping bag and laying in my backyard watching meteor showers (which is on the agenda for tonight).
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
One night the moon was full, and the stables were unusually quiet. It was close to Christmas and near midnight. I saddled up my Appaloosa and went for a midnight ride, in new snow. No need for a flashlight, the horse seemed to know the way. With every hoof dropping into fresh powder it crunched. My frosty breath, the steam rolling out of his nostrils - the deer that weren't afraid of us all standing near a stream to drink - it couldn't have gotten any more perfect and just then a massive snow owl flew directly in front of us, landed in a tree and called to it's mate. It started to snow just so light, no wind - it was so peaceful.

Any time difficult child and I ever got to go to the beach to escape our home life we went. I remember packing peanut butter sandwhiches and bottled water, teaching him about ocean life, standing knee deep in water and catching a sea cucumber for him to hold, him chasing seagulls yelling here chicky chicky - and the dolphin that came to the edge of the dock seemed to mimic every move difficult child made. We stayed until the sun set, collecting washed up sand dollars and taking the live ones from people on the beach and putting them back out on the sand bars. It was a great day - it always was when me and him went to the beach.
 
That was beautiful, Star.

Pachelbel's Canon in D Major? Minor?

I don't remember, but I love it. I play it almost every morning, right after I get up.

It's beautifully calming, and sets the tone for the day.

:smile:

Barbara
 

Suz

(the future) MRS. GERE
A sleeping puppy...or petting one. Chloe is the first pup I've ever owned who loves to be cuddled and petted while she's sleeping. Heaven!

Susie
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Starb</div><div class="ubbcode-body">One night the moon was full, and the stables were unusually quiet. It was close to Christmas and near midnight. I saddled up my Appaloosa and went for a midnight ride, in new snow. No need for a flashlight, the horse seemed to know the way. With every hoof dropping into fresh powder it crunched. My frosty breath, the steam rolling out of his nostrils - the deer that weren't afraid of us all standing near a stream to drink - it couldn't have gotten any more perfect and just then a massive snow owl flew directly in front of us, landed in a tree and called to it's mate. It started to snow just so light, no wind - it was so peaceful.

Any time difficult child and I ever got to go to the beach to escape our home life we went. I remember packing peanut butter sandwhiches and bottled water, teaching him about ocean life, standing knee deep in water and catching a sea cucumber for him to hold, him chasing seagulls yelling here chicky chicky - and the dolphin that came to the edge of the dock seemed to mimic every move difficult child made. We stayed until the sun set, collecting washed up sand dollars and taking the live ones from people on the beach and putting them back out on the sand bars. It was a great day - it always was when me and him went to the beach.

</div></div>
Have you done any professional writing? I love your descriptions, so evocative.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
ME WRITE? (laughed out loud) no - I'm just a wordy bugger.

Thanks for the compliment- I forgot Bachs Tacotta in Dminor - (Phantom of the Opera song) very relaxing, so haunting

And petting Puppies - Yes Suz - even petting 137 lb. wet, snarfing, wagging bulldog is a stress reducer. He's not a cuddler - but when you're near the size of a bull moose it's decidedly difficult to get comfy in a barcalounger with your mum.
 
Barbara! I LOVE Canon in D (yep, minor). I used to sing in the church praise band, and that was very uplifting, yet calming as well.

I noticed an awful lot of nature references. Some things that I remember being serene while doing:

In Hawaii. Watching the sunset. The ocean was calm. It looked golden from the setting sun. You heard nothing but the sound of a nearby waterfall. The breeze was light and salty, and you would just watch the sun get bigger and redder as it approached the horizon...then get smaller and smaller as it dipped below. You could see it's twin reflecting off the water, and watched it until it was a tiny dot...then nothing. It was just breathtaking.


In New Mexico. Matt & I happened to be trucking through there in the middle of the night. It was a clear night with no moon. We pulled over and got out of the truck to watch the stars. I have never ever seen anything like it before in my life. A sapphire sky with a million diamonds. And I kid you not, a shooting star every 5 seconds. I could not believe that this was the same sky I look at in this dirty city.


Our very first truck had a sunroof (yep. a sunroof in a semi). One evening, in upper Michigan, there was one heck of a thunderstorm. Matt & I laid down in the back of the semi and watched the storm through the sunroof for HOURS. What a lightshow. It was amazing.


As a kid, I would always pick up my cat, Farrah, and lay on my back while she snuggled on my chest to purr. I just loved that. She was a beautiful calico cat. That was a very serene time. As an adult, cuddling with Tink has got to be my most favorite thing in the whole wide world to do. I'm enjoying it now while I can, because any day she could tell me that she is too big for that.

Yikes. Did not mean to yap so much.
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
BBK, I'm glad you mentioned music.
Music is one of the ways that I find serenity. As you said, both uplifting and calming.

My chiropractor and physio have finally gotten my carpal tunnel under some level of control, so I've been able to get back to playing the piano, which always brings me peace. Especially at this time of the year, when I bring out the Christmas sheet music.

Lying on my back looking up at the sky always makes me feel serene as well. During the warm weather, I take a blanket out to the backyard first thing in the morning, before anyone else is awake. I do stretching exercises and then sit there (sometimes for hours) with a cup of tea, a book, and my flower garden all around me.

In the cold weather, I bundle up and walk, just at dusk when people are starting to put their house lights on. Hearing the snow crunch under my feet and seeing my breath, while seeing everyone settled into their houses for the night...

And yes, Barbara, Pachelbel's Canon is beautiful.

Reading all your posts, I feel warm and toasty. All of your images of serenity have brought me incredible peace.

Thank you.

Trinity
 
K

Kjs

Guest
Growing up we had a cottage in Door County, on the water. We had a beach, dock, boat, motorcycles. We would move there when school got out and move back when school started. It was 20 miles from our home in Green Bay, so my dad drove in to work everyday. Mom didn't work. Everyone did the same who had cottages. The cottage, beach, water faced the west, so we had outstanding sunsets over the water. When we were young my brother and I thought the sun set in the water.

All the kids had mini bikes, and we road the trails and private roads, took turns having bon fires at each others cottages. We swam in the big waves, and water skiied on the calm days.

We still have the cottage, though most others have been knocked down and big homes built. I don't get there often. But I do live near Lake Michigan. (a few blocks) So, on stressful days I take the dogs and sit along the beach. The water brings back so many memories. My dad especially. What a special gift he gave to us. To cherish forever. Too bad growing up we didn't realize how special we were. It was often hard to leave our friends in town for a summer. But had so many others out there.

So, the answer..water. Even on the stormiest days, the water is a peaceful memory.
 
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