Saturday, September 11, 2010

Savoring the Good Life

 


This semester I am taking a positive psychology class. It is a relatively new field of psychology that has only been an official field of study since 1998. Up until recently most psychologists took a more grim outlook on the human species and focused much of their attention more on what goes wrong than celebrating and enhancing what goes right. It has been really interesting to see that most of what it teaches are things that I have been taught since I was little. In the primer textbook, written by Christopher Peterson, it suggests that good character and strong values are what will bring us the most lasting happiness. Although these are ideas that are common to some, the field of study takes it to the next level with experimentation and documentation.

This past week we have been talking about learning to savor the good things in life. The following is a part of the assignment that we did in connection with the idea of savoring:

"I love taking pictures of my daughters! I want to keep each smile forever. I relish in each hug they give, and every made-up song they sing. I enjoy getting them dressed in the morning and doing their hair and even when they are hanging around in their footsie pajamas with crazy-crazy hair, I love to adore them.

"Throughout each day I make mental notes of each of the silly, clever or cute things that each of my daughters does and anticipate sharing these moments with my husband. I am so glad to be blessed to stay home with them during the day.

"Yesterday we took our girls for a walk out on the tundra and I just loved to watch Chalyse pick up the old wild flowers. She would hold it up and say “Look a flower,” then she would pick off each piece of fluff and watch as it floated away in the wind. Ellora and I pulled some moss off the ground. I let her feel how soft it was and she excitedly squealed and held it up to show Dad."


I have to add that yesterday we had the opportinity to go out and pick blueberries. They are not quite the same as the blueberries we have down in the states but, similar. They are just a little blacker, smaller and a little more bitter. One of the ladies that works at the school told us where to find some, so we took a short walk down 7 Mile Road, about half a mile, and there they were just off to the right of the road. Tons of them growing very close to the ground. It had been a beautiful, sunny and warm day but just as we were heading out of the village a cold fog set in. The girls were getting cold and kept stepping on the berries so we didn't stay long but I hope to go out again before they are all gone. We were going to maybe go out today but it was very windy and cold, so maybe we will try sometime next week.


Here are some pictures of our walk on Thursday and our berry picking yesterday.


7 comments:

  1. Great job with the photos! My colleague/friend Gloria is teaching that class you are taking. I am glad to hear such positive feedback from it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend--and the res of those berries when you get them!

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  2. I don't know if you have ever read it, but the book Emotional Intelligence is one of my favorites. One of the things that really struck me was that in it he talks about how the best way to overcome depression or other similar problems is through Prayer/Meditation (personally I'd lean more on prayer), and service. It's nice that the scientific community is starting to catch up a little to what we've known through the gospel.

    Those berry bushes look interesting. It looks like it was fun.

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  3. Very very interesting. I loved your excerpt from your assignment. Isn't it amazing how much happier we are when we are really paying attention to all of the good things in our lives? I think President Hinkley had the secret!

    I love the two pictures of your girls when Chalyse is looking up and Ellora is looking down and then the opposite. It cracks me up that they have the exact same expression but just switch. They are so so very cute!

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  4. Great blog, Camille. What a unique niche you have to talk to other stay-at-home moms (as a mom staying home in the extreme arctic) and to home schooling parents, as well (as a teacher/spouse of a teacher.) This offers a fun and fascinating glimpse into your life in Tikigaq. I hope you get a chance to pick akpiks--salmon berries. Yum, the favorite Christmas preserve of my Norwegian ancestors!

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  5. "I love the two pictures of your girls when Chalyse is looking up and Ellora is looking down and then the opposite." That's what I was going to say! :) Precious!

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  6. Lovely blog, Camille! Thank you for the reminder, that this moment is the one to live for, and that we ought to be living it well! It is so easy to forget that and let the less important things create stress in our lives.. Life is good, when we make it good :D)

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