Mindful Places

aguIDe To serenITy on The Treasure coasT

I neeD a pIck-me-up

By Sheana Firth, Chief Brand Officer / Director of Marketing, Mental Health Association in Indian River County

There’s a moment, near the end of the work week, where I just feel….well…. blah; like a blank space where my normal, happy character should be. The stressors and sheer FULLNESS of the previous workdays have begun to take their toll, even just slightly, like a low vibration buzzing in the recesses of my mind. A hum….a vacancy. A routine done on auto pilot. Get up, make the coffee, walk the dog, get dressed, drive to work, work, drive home, fix something for dinner, feed the pets, do a little housework, take a shower, settle in to catch up on a television show, fall asleep before the first commercial break. Wash, rinse, repeat. It’s Thursday and although I can see the weekend ahead, beckoning me to join it there in its sun-filled splendor, I find the need for a little…something….to get me through these next two days. I’ve run a little too fast and a little too hard towards the completion of the weeks’ tasks and my body knows it.

There’s a place, a time, where I know just where to find that “something”. Located at the intersection of Indian River Boulevard and 8th Street in Vero Beach, right as the traffic lights are packed with cars and the sun illuminates the sky with its first full brightness of the day, having risen to just the right height, the Lagoon Greenway welcomes my weariness and promises to transform me mind, body and spirit. As I walk the oak covered path, I am transfixed by the way the light catches every curve of the Spanish moss, the way it dances through the wind-tickled leaves. That low buzzing in my mind is quickly replaced with the harmonious melody of the leaves dancing to the music of the breeze and the symphony of the earth’s littlest creatures marching across the grass, going off, no

doubt, to their little creature jobs. I smile to myself at the thought of “little creature” jobs and am suddenly grateful that I get to go off to my big creature job. And with that, just those few mindful moments, I am eager to finish my workweek with a smile and feeling like myself again. MHAIRC has been active in Indian River County since 1978. In 2007, they opened the Walk-In & Counseling Center in Vero Beach, Florida. The Walk-In & Counseling Center is unique in that it offers immediate access to emotional and behavioral health care for children and adults on a walk-in basis for the initial visit, and by appointment for continuing treatment and services. They also run three Drop-In Centers for people with severe and persistent mental illness in three counties – Indian River, Martin, and Okeechobee counties. These centers are open 365 days per year. The Lagoon Greenway is a lush 187acre preserve featuring three miles of trails suitable for hiking, jogging, and bike riding. The main trail begins within a beautiful maritime hammock with a short boardwalk crossing a slough and then the trail continues through additional hammock. A boardwalk will take you from the edge of the hammock to the shoreline of the Indian River Lagoon, through a broad expanse of mangroves. There are two viewing platforms, great for bird watching or just relaxing by the water. This beautiful space is open to the public daily from dawn until dusk.