Many persons in this modern society strive to make it through their day jobs, going and going, in hopes that at the end of a designated amount of time, they will be able to leave it all behind for… a week’s vacation.
This has puzzled, and quite frankly, frustrated me. How can three to ten days of ‘vacation’ relieve the stress from the rest of the year’s work cycle? Many times, especially as a young adult struggling to make it into a successful life situation, the allotted days away from the chaos of a job include a family event which the vacation is planned around. One of the reasons, in fact, that I have never bothered to move far from family is the knowledge that every small bit of vacation time will be spent visiting people I don’t usually get to see instead of taking off to a new and exotic place to explore. I do not know how others do this. But then, I spend a lot of time with my extended family and perhaps would feel differently if I did not get to see them all on a weekly basis.
When it is time to go away somewhere, I am rarely thoroughly prepared. Packing is a last minute occurrence, including a search for various items such as passport, sunscreen, a white purse, or the video camera charger, and I rarely have the funds to buy new attire for whatever the destination. Invariably I face incredible stress during the days leading up to the trip. I have also learned that if I do not leave a clean house to come home to, more stress and tears will pile onto the homecoming at the end of such a break from stress and painful obligation to follow someone else’s plans. Not to mention the fact that now the vacation is over and now it is back to work and the normal stressful routine that will hopefully lead into another break.
So with such build up before and after traditional vacation time, where is the relaxing part? It’s like hoping for a sick day then being a miserable sick person on the day off! I have had little opportunity to spend time in a wealthy manner – both life and vacation require all hands and little luxury. It seems that a week or two after coming home, even from a very good time, the great feelings are gone and I am ready for another break. So what can I do about it?
On my last vacation, there occurred a few hours where I was in such a relaxed mood, in such a state of peace and tranquility, that I pondered how on Earth I could hold on to the moment. Perhaps these people who gain energy from vacation have figured out how to bottle up the beauty and joy of a nice vacation and sip on it during their tedious chores and obligations. I spent so much concentration, however, on trying to figure out how to remember and hold onto the feeling that I ultimately lost the peace itself in worrying about situations waiting for me at my front door. I took a look at the key things that I like about vacation to see what made it so special.
1. People smiling. I don’t think we see enough smiles on an every day basis.
2.
(to be continued)
Becoming Fulfilled 