What is a time, activity, place, etc., that brought peace/serenity?

My activity that brings peace is building LEGO. My son bought a set during lockdown, so I figured I’d buy one too to build with him. I never had LEGO growing up and just thought it’d be a one time deal. It was not. I now have a room with 5-8 foot tables with an entire LEGO city, farm, and park. These sets are a combination of both of ours. He no longer lives at home but we both contribute to the town. I also got into the LEGO art and took these to my work and decorated my office. Last year our company moved and I no longer have an office but now have a cubicle. I had to bring the LEGO art home. I didn’t want to put it into the LEGO room where I wouldn’t see it everyday. I decided I’d redo my bedroom. I told my husband that the deer, moose and bear decorations of our bedroom were going out and the LEGO was coming in. He laughed and said he didn’t care. He repainted our bedroom and I am now a 61 year old woman with a LEGO bedroom/bathroom. Makes me happy every time I walk in the room.

My favorite spot is in Wyoming "Cloud Peak Primitive Area" and it took three visits to final hike from the campground to the peak. The peak is at 10,800 feet with snow on the north face feeding Emerald Lake (10,200 feet). The trail's high point is 10,400 feet. We had my wife, our two youngest daughters, and two collies (this was my herd). Sitting on the hillside, except for the peak, every direction was looking down. We were the only people there at the time. The trail crosses a high plains plateau that gradually rises and the area is edged with little peaks. It is like walking from the throat to the front teeth of a crocodile (a very big Crocodile)!

@diverdown1
Nothing changes? That would surprise a Buddhist.

Van Morrison
Every second every minute it keeps changing to something different.

My activity that brings peace is building LEGO. My son bought a set during lockdown, so I figured I’d buy one too to build with him. I never had LEGO growing up and just thought it’d be a one time deal. It was not. I now have a room with 5-8 foot tables with an entire LEGO city, farm, and park. These sets are a combination of both of ours. He no longer lives at home but we both contribute to the town. I also got into the LEGO art and took these to my work and decorated my office. Last year our company moved and I no longer have an office but now have a cubicle. I had to bring the LEGO art home. I didn’t want to put it into the LEGO room where I wouldn’t see it everyday. I decided I’d redo my bedroom. I told my husband that the deer, moose and bear decorations of our bedroom were going out and the LEGO was coming in. He laughed and said he didn’t care. He repainted our bedroom and I am now a 61 year old woman with a LEGO bedroom/bathroom. Makes me happy every time I walk in the room.

@shmerdloff That provoked some thought. Nothingness, no thought, Buddhism. I believe the only absolute truth is change. You know my mind...analysis paralysis!

Spending time quietly at the norther California coast (sea ranch specifically) or the oregon coast near Cannon beach. The wilder and stormier the better.

@rollingf That sounds beautiful. I want to see more of that part of the country one day. I doubt I could hike that high or far at this point in my life, but I still want to travel to see that part of the country. I love to camp. It is also a favorite activity for peace, I find. My favorite place is near the Appalachian trail in Hot Springs, NC. It is about 30-45 minutes from Asheville. It is along the French Broad river and there are mineral filled Hot Springs that you can make a reservation to soak at a lodge. It is neat to see the hikers come off the trail to stock up. It is about the size of Mayberry (Andy Griffith 🙂 )

The one time that was not as peaceful of a dive, was back in 2000. My dad and I were on a SCUBA live aboard. These dive trips are pretty much exclusively diving from a boat, which at the time was my dream life (actually, having said that, it is still my dream life...) So, my dad was newly certified. The first dive of the day is the deepest due to the nitrogen build up in the blood and needing to do several safety stops on the ascent to get the nitrogen out of the blood stream, so as not to get "the bends." The night dive, the night before, one of the dive team threw a flashlight down to me in the water. It hit my regulator (what I breath through). I thought nothing of it. The next morning, my dad and I were on the deep dive, which was about 89 ft. deep. On our way up, we were doing our safety stop. I felt and heard a loud noise. It felt like someone had punch me in the face. I looked at him to see what his reaction was. He didn't notice. So, next, my regulator blows. It blew out of my mouth and started flailing around underwater. I remember looking at my dad and his eyes were as big as saucers. I was so proud of him though. I was taught early on, not to panic underwater. I immediately grabbed his second stage "octopus". He did not panic either. He grabbed my buoyancy compensator vest (BC) and I started breathing off his tank. We finished our safety stop. It turned out that when the girl threw the flashlight and it hit my regulator, it weakened the o-ring. That is so much pressure in those air tanks that I am lucky it didn't knock out my teeth! I remember telling my dad how proud I was of him for not panicking although we laughed about what I saw and the size of his eyes behind his mask.