Growing up in New Jersey, my sister Amy and I loved to spend summer afternoons at our local library. The children’s library was new and the freshly installed comfy reading chairs felt like they were placed there just for us. I couldn’t wait to cozily curl up with a pile of carefully chosen books. I was free to read any story at my own pace on wide-open-no-school-summer afternoons. In our public library I experienced what I now recognize as a feeling of peace. Our idyllic and simple summer ritual kept us content and engaged all afternoon until our Mom would pick us up just before dinner.
Another peaceful summer adventure my sister and I planned together began with preparing and packing sandwiches and snacks in our little metal school lunch boxes. We would purposefully walk outside to the farthest corner of our yard enjoying a feeling of independence. Arranging a cozy nest just far enough from home we settled onto our picnic blanket. Under the shade of a tree with a favorite book and my sister next to me, I had discovered another peaceful place.
Where are your peaceful places?