Emotions and environment

Bora Bora, where I did most of my writing.  I would love to go back to where the colors were so vibrant, it turned on my creative conscious and happy vibes.

Environment plays a pretty major role in my happiness and general state of mind.  Being an empath, it’s not particularly surprising that my surroundings would rate high on the importance scale.  When I talk about environment, it not only includes where I work, but also where I live.  It has also played a part in where I have attended school. 

 Growing up in Juneau, it was tough to balance out my emotions, especially during the winter when we were only graced with about six hours of daylight and the rest of the year when the weather was particularly combative.  It rained.  A lot.  Sometimes my mind will crave the sound and sights of a good rain storm, but normally my mood takes on the same colorful frame (or lack thereof) during times of darkness or rain.  It was a little easier during the summer months; however, as we had this wonderful little perk called twilight and we had about 19 hours of daylight, give or take.  Plus, there was a lot of outdoor-type activities to embark on like hikes or camping to help with the droll feelings.  If my environment couldn’t give me the endorphins I craved, then exercise was always an option.  

Environment was actually one of the major drivers of why I moved south and would never consider moving back to Alaska.  Warmer weather, more sun, less rain, etc. etc.  Overall, I’m just happier living where I am, minus the time in 2010 we hardly had a summer and most of the time it was gray, overcast, and chilly.  That summer I really considered moving to a warmer, sunnier climate like Arizona.  Thankfully, we haven’t had another summer like that since!

I have fond memories of my college environment and being particularly happy with where I chose to attend.  UAS in Juneau had this beautiful library with tall ceilings and a wall of windows that let a lot of natural light in.  It was probably one of my favorite places on campus to study or spend a few quiet minutes to myself.  When we moved to Anchorage to finish school, UAA had a fairly lacking library that has since been remodeled, but there were other parts of campus that I was happy with.  I spent a lot of time by default in the BEB building because I was a business major and most of my classes were in there. There is something to be said about tall ceilings and open space.  That was the perfect environment, and I didn’t mind so much that I was there into the evening and sometimes on weekends.

As I grew up, my work environment began to take center stage with regard to importance.  I don’t recall it being so central to my life and happiness as a teenager, but perhaps that had to do with the fact I wasn’t spending several hours of my life each day at work.  It seems to make sense that the more time I spent somewhere, the more important the environment actually was.

When we lived in Anchorage, I was working part-time while attending school.  Before landing where I did, I remember each interview I went on and how I took in the work environment and wondered if I would be happy there.  Some places you knew right away, and others seemed to require a few weeks on the job before realizing it’s not the place to make you happy long-term.  It’s why I insisted on a tour each time I interviewed.  Environment plays a huge role in my happiness and what I am able to give.  If it’s dark, dirty, and the ceilings are low and closed-in, I won’t be a happy camper.  Light, bright, airy – those are all the boxes I had to check.  Sometimes I settled and tried to make a go of it, but eventually I ended up leaving unless the job itself and the people I worked with outshined the fact the environment sucked.  In those cases, the work and the people were the environment.

Environment also plays a huge role in my creative conscious.  I did the most writing when I was vacationing in Hawaii and Bora Bora, or when we went camping.  For different reasons, these places were able to inspire me.  Hawaii and Bora Bora had all of these colors – the water, the greenery, the sea life—all of it contributed to my ability to crank out over a hundred pages of writing during each trip.  Camping, on the other hand, is more about the relaxation that comes when you’re sitting in front of something as simple as a campfire, enjoying the dancing orange flame and the crackling and snapping that doesn’t seem to follow any kind of rhythm.  For the most part, it’s also quiet in stark contrast to city life.  Sure, there are people talking and sometimes hollering, but usually it’s minimal.  Instead, you’re surrounded by tall trees, singing birds, chittering squirrels and chipmunks, and other critters that allow you to share in their environment that makes them happy.

Being emotionally connected to the environment is not without its challenges.  It’s a delicate balancing act of finding the place I crave for happiness at any given moment.  When it’s spot on; however, it’s amazing for my psyche and my well-being.