I Believe This is What They Call Happiness

A close friend of mine and I have a long standing disagreement about which is better; eating in the window of a restaurant or in a windowless lounge.

Where I do like both, I love the feeling of being tucked into a window seat, watching people go by as I sip, eat, talk and drink in the ambiance of everything in and outside the restaurant. She prefers that moody, dark red, circular booths-type-of-place that has tinted mirrors lining the walls.

Today, after working with a client on a special project for two hours, I went to the grocery store and had an unusually pleasant shopping experience that made me feel at peace and relaxed. On the way out, I bought some prepared food because I was hungry.

I was going to eat in the car but thought better of it as I was in a dark, loud parking garage where there were people clambering for my spot. Instead, I decided to do one of my favorite things, in line with this lovely day I was having. I would have the ultimate sitting in the window-seat experience by eating and driving.

Some of you may be picturing commercials of business people in the morning, on their way to work with fast-food in one hand as their driving or something like that. This was not that, at all.

I ate and drove, taking a bit here and there at red lights, enjoying the various items I had chosen from the food bar and feeling no sense of hurry or concern about healthy, fattening, good, bad etc. I just felt content.

I giggled at myself as I ate and drove at a Sunday pace enjoying the sights and sounds of the grey and wintery city, looking at Chicago architecture (one of my most favorite past-times) and watching people in all of their coats, scarves and yesterday’s snow.

This was a lovely way to have a meal and really do some people watching.

I realized several things as I was making my way back home; I had not looked at my phone in hours and it wasn’t even a consideration. I was so content that I had not even turned the radio on in the car. My mind was happy listening to my own thoughts and enjoying being in the moment driving through the city, seeing life happening around me while I ate salad with chopsticks. And, I realized how balanced, present, fulfilled and undistracted I felt. I believe they call this feeling HAPPINESS.

I pulled into the garage and thought, am I really having a driveway moment, in the garage, listening to nothing but my own thoughts? Yep!

And then, I remembered that this is nothing new for me. It is though, a feeling I have not tapped into for many years. This food and being in motion thing, as I watch the world, has been something that I’ve loved doing since I was little. So much so, that I wrote a poem about it in my mid-twenties that starts like this:

Food tastes much better while riding a bike

No matter which kind, motor or trike

So whatever the food and whichever the meal

Eating in motion is a great way to feel

I thought this experience was notable because it was a simple and accessible example of me living Life as My Best Self, pulling from the best of who I was, expanding the best of who I am and in so doing, crafting the life I want to live. Pretty neat!

I love doing the work that I am always suggesting for my clients to do and actually doing it myself.