Where is here?

So the blog is called "from here to there"-- and I was trying to figure out exactly how happy I am at this point so I can determine where "there" might be.

First off, this past week was a particularly low one for me. As I said in my previous post, rumination was definitely a part of that. It is hard to tell what made this past week particularly hard and I dare say that I could throw a dart and hit on a myriad of logical reasons that I am not the happiest I could be. Firstly, I am in a state of transition. I am leaving my job next month to begin internship. I will be starting a new internship and then in August a new job. I will be moving also in August... So I am back to Liminal Space (I posted about this a couple of years ago, feel free to read about liminal space in that post).

Secondly, I am somewhat isolated. Two of my very good friends are out of town for extended periods of time. In a past life that would have had little impact on my social life, but these days that cuts my source of relational nourishment by more than half. When I decided to stop consuming alcohol more than eight months ago, that had an expected, but unpredictable impact on my social life, and the ramifications of that are still working themselves out. I am sure there is a thirdly and a fourthly and a list of other uglies that could go on and on, but I don't think making a list of what isn't working is as uplifting as getting back to the point of where is here so I can then get from here to there.

So I'd purchased a book called "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin several moons ago and decided to give it another go-- I could use a companion on this journey. She references the "Authentic Happiness Inventory" and so I, being the scholar that I am, googled it and found http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx, the homepage of Dr. Martin Seligman, "Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania and founder of positive psychology, a branch of psychology which focuses on the empirical study of such things as positive emotions, strengths-based character, and healthy institutions".
There are a variety of measurement instruments on there that look at happiness, well-being, depressive symptoms and much more! This seemed ideal for a way for me to measure my happiness as I go along my journey.

So I won't reveal my scores just yet, but let me tell you...they were pretty low and my score on depression symptoms were pretty high. I can say that the scores were based on feelings of the past week and as I said earlier, it was a rough week.

Let me tell you one last thing before I turn in (because it is a fact I have personally accepted that you need to go to bed at a decent hour to be happy)-- I have turned to yoga a couple times in the last week to assist with my mood and it has been a lifesaver. I am committed to going to yoga as much as possible. Tomorrow I return to meditation.