Submitted by Victoria Anastasi on the 2020 winter session program in New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Communication…
The Kauri Tree Twilight Forest Tour was my favorite excursion thus far, especially because I did not expect what I felt at all. When we walked up to the third largest tree in the world, then we had a moment of silence for it, I truly felt overwhelmed and emotional. I recognized how important these trees are for the Maori people and their impact on the world for thousands of years. It makes you feel so small, but in such a gratifying way. I even teared up when we had a moment of silence, Harmony was singing and Billy told us to think about loved ones that we have lost. I really felt at peace especially because my grandparents loved to travel and promised trips that unfortunately never got to happen because they passed away.
My happiness project is about gratitude. I think each day there is something we can find in it that is worth appreciating and taking the time to acknowledge. The forest really drove that fact home for me. The basis of my happiness project is a gratitude calendar. It is a short journaling exercise where you write down things you are grateful or thankful for each day. It can be one thing or many, however big or small. Then, at the end of the month you list all of the things and reflect on them as a whole and write an overarching journal entry considering all of the items you wrote down.