Increasing Happiness

We have all been through a difficult year. Summer can be a time for rest and restoration and engaging in pleasurable activities.

In his book, Authentic Happiness, Martin Seligman discusses the importance of enjoying experiences of the senses in order to enhance happiness. He suggests as one idea, that we arrange a special day for ourselves in which we focus on enjoyable activities for the senses. We arrange a special day that we can look forward to, in which we do things that we love, and we savor what we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. So, perhaps you can think about the things that you love to do, whether it’s spending a day at the beach, relaxing and looking at the ocean, or listening to music, having a wonderful meal, being with friends, or curling up with a good book. Arrange this special day for yourself!

In general, it is a time right now to nurture ourselves. Many people have suffered during this time. It is a time for us to have compassion for ourselves, and to focus on rest and restoration.