It’s been five years since I finished my capstone, and I feel two things simultaneously: 1) that I have done absolutely nothing to infuse positive psychology into the world and 2) that everything I have done and continue to do is rooted in positive psychology because there’s no way for it not to be.
It has been a difficult few years for me, marked by several significant losses and all the logistics that come with death. My energy, focus, and attention are not what they used to be and, truthfully, they may never be. I’m reckoning with who I am becoming which, really, is not a becoming so much as an unearthing of who I’ve always been.
Understanding, embracing, and living my character strengths has been an anchor in choppy seas. When depressive waves crash in, I turn to Perspective and Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence for grounding. I take myself on beauty-seeking walks and notice. Sometimes I walk in nature. Sometimes I walk in cities. Sometimes I simply look around the room. But I always – always – look up. There is magic in looking up. Few people do. Heights hold beautiful secrets that largely go unnoticed, like the dappled light filtering through this papery birch tree. Or an architectural detail on a building several stories up. Unnecessary beauty is hidden everywhere. Look for it.
