A Beautiful Ripple Effect

What makes you happy? Can you name 10 things that make you happy? Try it! It’s a fun activity and I am thrilled to feature what makes the A Beautiful Ripple Effect community happy :). This guest post is curated by Nicola Warwick! You can read more about Nicola at the end of this post.

1. My tree.
“I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.” – Henry David Thoreau

There are lots and lots of trees in the park but, for some reason, early on in my acquaintance with the park, I singled out this tree as my favourite. It almost stands alone but is part of a row of trees. I’ve taken hundreds and hundreds of photographs of this tree. In every season. But this photograph is the one that I love the best. I have it framed on my wall and it brings me a great deal of pleasure every time I look at it. I go to visit my tree whenever I am in the park. I think there’s something to be said for communing with nature. It has an effect on your soul. There’s a calming nature to trees and I just love being around them.

2. Photography.
This is my absolute favourite thing. I’m always at my happiest when I have a camera in my hand. Whether I’m taking photographs for my own pleasure or taking photographs for other people, it has the ability to take me to a different place. A little switch flicks somewhere in my head and I just get into the flow. It’s as if nothing else exists in the world apart from me and my camera. The feeling of joy that I get from photography is huge.

And looking at photographs I’ve taken is a constant reminder of that feeling and the memory of the day. Having someone compliment my photographs, and knowing someone likes something I’ve created, moves me enormously.

3. Creative projects.
Last year was a year of revelations for me. I’d known there was something that I was supposed to be doing but I couldn’t define it for a long time. Understanding that, finally, and having a purpose, created a big shift for me. The ideas started flowing and I derived a great sense of fulfillment from working on them.

4. Getting up early.
I like the hour in the morning before I have to go to work. I catch up with my blog, I read other people’s websites, I tweet. I really enjoy the hour or so when the world seems as though it’s still asleep and I’m getting a march on the day. In the winter everywhere is still dark but in the summer I can watch the day beginning. It’s a really precious time for me as it’s often the only time in the day that I can work on my ideas and projects. It’s an hour crammed with energy.

5. Wide open spaces.
The place I go most often is the park. I can walk and walk for hours. I take photographs, I invariably have a coffee in one of the little park cafes. I take a notebook and sit and jot while I drink my coffee. It’s a place that is away from the noise of the traffic. There’s always something new to look at, or a favourite tree to check on, a familiar face to chat to. But also it’s a great opportunity to think and contemplate and have some moments of peace.

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