YOUR HAPPY PLACE is a regular column in which celebrated and celebrity mummies share their vision of happiness, plus tactics for cheering themselves up when the going gets tough.
Name: Pamela Gerrand
Occupation: Singer/songwriter and speaker with a passion for personal and planetary healing and transformation. Pam spent four seasons in the Acting Company at the Stratford Festival, and has performed on stages across Canada, including the Hummingbird Centre, where she was guest soloist with the Canada Pops Orchestra in 2003. Pam travels widely, performing at forums and festivals devoted to peace and social justice, and delivering workshops at universities, spiritual centers and conferences. www.pamgerrand.com
At Home: Pamela resides in Stratford, Ontario with her husband Stephen, her children Carly and Jared, and their singing dog named Henry
Claim to Fame: She's well known in the personal empowerment/self-help world and has performed her original music at keynote talks given by Byron Katie, Deepak Chopra, James Twyman, Margaret Trudeau, Stephen Lewis, Bruce Lipton, Barbara Marx Hubbard, and Don Miguel Ruiz.
Why we love her: Her voice is magnificent and her lyrics powerful and inspiring with a true healing quality. Pam did a concert in my parents' condo to help raise money for her upcoming album, and she had us all in tears. This song "October Sky" inspired by the birth of her daughter will give you an idea of how incredible she truly is. And, any mom will surely relate to her powerful words.
1. How would you describe your Happy Place?
My happy place is comprised of both sound and silence. I find peace in the silence of a forest walk and meditation, and experience happiness hearing the laughter of my family and friends, and the sound of great conversation shared heart to heart. Music is definitely a gateway to my happy place, either in deep listening, dancing or singing. Recently, I stepped into a day that combined all of my loves, which brought me to a very happy place. I spent the day with my husband, kids and my niece and her young boys at the Toronto Zoo walking in the fresh air, seeing the animals through the eyes of the little boys, and spending time with my family all rated a four star happy day!! My two dogs, Henry and Rufus, love to sing with me, and it never fails to make me smile. They are pretty fabulous at making our home a happy place!
2. What do you do to make yourself happy when life gets overwhelming?
My answer again comes back to sound and silence, with some yoga, tai chi and Pilates set to fabulous music. I love the BodyFlow class at GoodLife, and I find it to be one of the most grounding, elevating hours I can give myself in the day. If I am feeling low energy, I put on some great music, sing along or dance to really get the chi moving. I also chant Sanskrit mantras to raise my vibration—they are literally codes for healing and harmony, and offer a vibrational bridge to your heart and to a profound state of bliss. I have an infrared sauna, and it is my 'meditation temple' especially in the cold Canadian winters.
I find it a powerful metaphor to enter a state of silence and presence, detoxing my mind while sweating and detoxing my body. Although I am a performer, I am at heart an introvert, and I 'fill my well' in these moments of spiritual practise. I thrive on balance, so to contrast these solitary moments, I love to have a great conversation on the phone or Skype, or tea with a friend. I surround myself with people who are positive, supportive and inspiring - and I find my energy really soars after a heart to heart conversation. It has been called 'processing verbally'—I just know that it brings clarity, perspective and can shift me quickly from low to high on the 'happy meter.'
3. Is there a Happy person you aspire to be more like? What is it about him/her you'd like to emulate?
As I ponder this question, many people come to mind as 'happy mentors' that I would like to emulate. If I have to pick one person, it would be my Mom, Ella Gerrand. She is one of the most genuinely kind, joyful, wise, and present people I know. She has a way of loving every single person for exactly where they are, and finding the silver lining in every difficulty. Her life has brought her many losses and challenges, and I see her as a wise, compassionate woman who has transformed these trials with her patience, presence and pure, unconditional love. She is never happier than when her kitchen is full of grandchildren and the makings of a fabulous meal to be shared. I would like to emulate her ability to find the sweetness in every person, the giggle in a baby with just the right 'tickle spot', and the grace to hold space for both tears and triumphs with an open heart.
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