July 1986 Marshall, Ohio...

Today I was thinking about the power of our thoughts. A thought can alter a mood so quickly in a positive or negative way. A thought can be truth or a lie. It can be a memory or a fantasy. Our minds hold all the power over us and we are too often a slave to what monopolizes them. I have no earthly idea how to take back control.

The phrase "Happy Place..." comes to mind when referring to thoughts. Is it possible to really mentally go to a happy place when all Hell is breaking loose around you? I have never been able to do it, but I'm sure there is someone out there that can.

If I were going to create a happy place in my mind, I think I would take myself back to my childhood around the age of six. So...mid July 1986, hot summer day, eating a cherry Popsicle, sitting in front of a window air conditioning unit with my cousins Meredith and Peter, fighting over air, trying to cool off. Strange I remember such a moment, but at my lowest of lows, I wish I were there. "It's the simple things in life, like when and where..."

My first memories start in Marshall, Ohio. Was born in Kentucky, but moved to Ohio when I was two. I remember playing outside, roller skating in the basement, and the day my baby brother came home from the hospital. All solid normal memories, but very vague. Why would an air conditioning unit, a cherry Popsicle, and my cousins imprint on my mind like that? Recently I have found myself needing a mental safe haven. I am in no way a control freak, but find it very frustrating when every thing's out of control.

I have little to say on this tonight...choosing to be happy and giving all I have to give until my giving is no longer accepted is all I can control. Wish me luck in this "Happy Place' endeavor. May I need to visit it very seldom, but when I do may the cherry Popsicle taste as sweet today and may the cool air be as refreshing as it was in July 1986...