Find your Happy Place. An obnoxious pop psychology expression, intended to get the recipient to imagine themselves in a peaceful place, in order to sooth an agitated state of mind.

Have you ever actually done this? As hokey as it sounds, it can actually work. Close your eyes, take a couple deep breaths, and visualize a place that brings you peace. It can be real or imaginary, a specific location or an amalgamation of several spots. Let all your worries and thoughts retreat to the background as you pull the attention of your brain to that place, where everything is calm and good.

When I do this, I imagine myself walking along an old and disused track, under the cool canopy of midsummer foliage, and stepping out into the sunshine and the hilltop field rising above me. This is the hike to Cameron Mountain, where I walked with my father to collect blueberries, sharing a pack of Necco Wafers.

This little town holds all of my “happy places. Listening to to the rush of Frohock Brook after spring rains, or watching the landscape being covered with snow. Walking through the trees on an autumn Sunday, finding the forgotten apple trees of a long gone farm. Just enjoying the natural beauty of our environment here, and appreciating how much of it has been preserved.

The beauty of Fernald’s Neck Preserve, of Tanglewood, of the vast trail system of the State Park. Before long, you will be able to witness the alewives leaping their way up the Ducktrap River, to their spawning grounds. That is a remarkable thing to see, and watching this can easily push back all the troubles that take up space in our heads.

Ducktrap has long been a place to find peace for me. I have written about it here before, that rocky peninsula where many a hot dog was consumed, many a rock skipped, many a sand dollar found on the sandbars. It is a place I associate with the family and friends of my childhood, and I have been known to stop there, in the off season, after a particularly trying day at work.

I hadn’t been down there since the ravages of this winter’s storms. It has taken a thrashing with much of it reclaimed by the bay. Hard to see.

My naughty little dog, Belladonna, and I made our way up Frohock Mountain the other day. The woods were quiet and barren, but the potential of spring was palpable. Among the hardwoods and pines was damp earth just waiting to burst forth with ferns and mushrooms and green leaves. At the summit, where Bella and I spent a few quiet moments, Penobscot Bay could be seen. With my pup at my side, we just breathed. Most of the things that I find myself worrying about I have little control over. Sometimes all I can do is just take a moment to be, to reach out with my senses, and quiet my mind. To exist in my happy place.

Little Mermaid, Jr.

The cast and crew of Lincolnville Central School’s production of The Little Mermaid Jr. are hard at work putting the finishing touches on the musical. It is scheduled to be performed three times, March 21, 22, and 23. The show will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Walsh Commons at LCS and tickets are $5 each. LCS has a long history of putting on wonderful musicals, and the talent go on to Camden Hills Regional High School, where Lincolnville students represent a significant portion of the thespians. 

OK, Lincolnville. There are many happy places in the little town. Find yours. Be kind, you never know what others may be struggling with. Reach out to me at ceobrien246@gmail.com.

CALENDAR

Tuesday, March 19

Library open 3-6 p.m. 208 Main Street

AA Meeting 12 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Wednesday, March 20

Library open 2-5 p.m. 

Thursday March 21

Conservation Commission, 4 p.m. Town Office

Friday, March 22

AA Meeting 12 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Saturday, March 23

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Sunday, March 24

United Christian Church, 9:30 a.m. Worship, 18 Searsmont Road

Bayshore Baptist Church, 9:30 a.m. Sunday School, 11:00 worship, 2648 Atlantic Highway