A friend of mine just posted on Facebook about the importance of traveling...of the ability to get away...while any of us are still young enough and healthy enough to do it. I couldn't agree with her more. Right now, she and her husband are in Paris. My husband and I just got back today from Maui. Believe me, taking the time to take a vacation is no longer a luxury in today's society; it is a necessity!
It doesn't matter how much money you think you do or don't have to vacation. Some of my best vacations were weekend camping trips up north with a borrowed tent and camping equipment. I think on one of those trips I had $50 on me for the whole weekend including what I'd have to spend for gas. Two friends went with me on the promise of a third having space for us at a campground in Muskegon somewhere. It was raining cats and dogs out as we drove to get there; none of us had ever camped before in our lives. We didn't even really know where we were going as cell phones and GPS weren't even invented yet. Maps were, but who could read those?! (LOL!)
My point is that getting away when you need it is like taking a good long drink of fresh water when you haven't had any in years. In spite of the peanuts galleries everywhere and all around us which proclaim "You can't do that now!", it DOES feel good to get out of Dodge and stay out if even for a day or two. A change of scenery forces our brains to think more clearly as we navigate ourselves through new and uncharted territories. Even of those territories are familiar "enough" to us (like going up north or down to Cedar Point)...there is still that element of surprise and adventure attached. For people struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, putting ourselves in new situations and surroundings has a healing effect on the brain and it's ability to calm itself in order to think more clearly and more rationally. A woman struggling with a difficult cancer diagnosis decides to learn Italian to help herself heal. Another picks up crocheting. A third travels to India (and wrote a book about it too: "Eat. Pray. Love."). When we venture outside our own life's box...it is amazing how much more we do have to see, appreciate, enjoy, and experience as part of our own healing, personal change, and growth process.
Have you ever known someone who died before they took that "dream" vacation they may have spoken to you or others about for a long time? I did. There is nothing sadder than to see someone work so very hard all of their adult lives and then "Poof!" it's suddenly all gone because death claimed them. Life is extremely short and we aren't even promised tomorrow. How can we keep hurting ourselves by saying "Oh yeah...one day I'm going to go/take my wife/take our family/go with my parents/invite my sisters...." when one day actually never takes place?
Today is the first day to practice doing what you have said and have kept saying you are going to do. The words are meaningless without the appropriate action(s) to back up those words. Figure out where you are going to get away...save your $$...make the phone calls....and do it. Just do it. It's good for you and you'll be glad you did.
Until next time...
It doesn't matter how much money you think you do or don't have to vacation. Some of my best vacations were weekend camping trips up north with a borrowed tent and camping equipment. I think on one of those trips I had $50 on me for the whole weekend including what I'd have to spend for gas. Two friends went with me on the promise of a third having space for us at a campground in Muskegon somewhere. It was raining cats and dogs out as we drove to get there; none of us had ever camped before in our lives. We didn't even really know where we were going as cell phones and GPS weren't even invented yet. Maps were, but who could read those?! (LOL!)
My point is that getting away when you need it is like taking a good long drink of fresh water when you haven't had any in years. In spite of the peanuts galleries everywhere and all around us which proclaim "You can't do that now!", it DOES feel good to get out of Dodge and stay out if even for a day or two. A change of scenery forces our brains to think more clearly as we navigate ourselves through new and uncharted territories. Even of those territories are familiar "enough" to us (like going up north or down to Cedar Point)...there is still that element of surprise and adventure attached. For people struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, putting ourselves in new situations and surroundings has a healing effect on the brain and it's ability to calm itself in order to think more clearly and more rationally. A woman struggling with a difficult cancer diagnosis decides to learn Italian to help herself heal. Another picks up crocheting. A third travels to India (and wrote a book about it too: "Eat. Pray. Love."). When we venture outside our own life's box...it is amazing how much more we do have to see, appreciate, enjoy, and experience as part of our own healing, personal change, and growth process.
Have you ever known someone who died before they took that "dream" vacation they may have spoken to you or others about for a long time? I did. There is nothing sadder than to see someone work so very hard all of their adult lives and then "Poof!" it's suddenly all gone because death claimed them. Life is extremely short and we aren't even promised tomorrow. How can we keep hurting ourselves by saying "Oh yeah...one day I'm going to go/take my wife/take our family/go with my parents/invite my sisters...." when one day actually never takes place?
Today is the first day to practice doing what you have said and have kept saying you are going to do. The words are meaningless without the appropriate action(s) to back up those words. Figure out where you are going to get away...save your $$...make the phone calls....and do it. Just do it. It's good for you and you'll be glad you did.
Until next time...