Interdisciplinary Psychology:

    I began my “Beautiful Day” by waking up to my internal clock, not to an alarm. It’s always nicer to feel like you are in control and have the final say of when to get up and that there is no where you have to be. I then had some great coffee hat my boyfriend had so lovingly prepared before he left for work. I start every morning with coffee. It is a ritual that while addictive, I also find ceremonial and I really enjoy. It’s especially nice to linger over coffee in the morning when you don’t have to hurry. You can really savor and enjoy it. I than cooked a nice, healthy breakfast. When I have to go to work or school I usually just eat cereal or something quick that I don’t have to cook but the truth is that I have plenty of time to make something warm and substantial and I would probably benefit from it as far as having more energy in the mornings if I ate a hot breakfast more regularly.
    It was literally a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and it was in the mid fifty degrees. I grabbed my Ipod, put on my sweats and drove down to Seward Park. I decided to take a leisurely walk instead of my normal power walk. If I’m focusing on exercise I tend to not notice the natural beauty of the park and don’t enjoy it as much. I listened to some great mellow music while I walked and noticed the birds singing and the first signs of spring. There were a few people bird watching and they told me they had seen a red breasted woodpecker, which was rare to the area. I was able to spot him and felt lucky to have done so. The sun was sparkling on the water and everyone that passed by seemed to be in a good mood. Before I knew it, I had walked two and a half miles and was sad it was over. I would do this more regularly but know that if I did it might lose some of it’s “specialness”, so I try to walk in the only about once or twice a week.
    I then went to my favorite local cafe and had some chai and a biscotti. I noticed that the art on the walls belonged to one of the regular patrons who was also there. I commented on how beautiful it all was and enjoyed him interacting with his son. I then did some reading for class, which I would normally not include in a beautiful day but it needed to be done. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy much of the reading that I do for classes but I feel it takes much more concentration than when I read for pleasure and am not as concerned with having to remember every concept.
    It was Valentines day so I went home to make a Valentines day card for my sweetie. There is something to be said for making something for someone rather than running to the store and buying a card. When he got home we went out to dinner which was nice but not as good as we expected. John had had a bad day at work and the restaurant was really crowded. I think we realized that we don’t need an occasion to treat ourselves to a nice meal or go out on a “date”. Since then we have been eating out more regularly at good restaurants because we realized that we would rather eat out every few weeks at a really good restaurant than go out a few times a week to get fast food.
    Many of my activities fit in with my current life goals. Both my breakfast and walking in the park aligned with my goal of being healthier. Reading feeds into my love of learning. While I no longer work in the food business, I still consider myself to be a bit of a foodie and enjoy both cooking and dining out which I think ties into my love of beauty and excellence. All of these activities definitely helped me to lead a “beautiful day” but I think what makes them special is not being able to do them every day. It’s when we can take time out of our busy schedules to slow down, savor and enjoy things that we realize the beauty that surrounds us.