Vacation: “an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling” or “a respite or a time of respite from something” or “the action of leaving something one previously occupied.”
Over the next few weeks I will be thinking about vacationing, especially how we take care of ourselves while on vacation. But I must first decide exactly what I am talking about when I use the term “vacation.”
The most common usage, the extended time of leisure…, has several shortcomings. First, vacations may not be all that extended. For many they are brief breaks from work that may be 3-4 days. Second, I have had a number of “vacations” that were anything but leisurely and recreating. Third, the cost of travel has made “staycations” much more common. So, I will be talking about the common idea of vacations, but not exclusively. I will also be talking about the other two ways of defining a vacation.
A vacation should be a respite, a healthy break, especially from your daily routine. Respite is a fancy word for “breathing space.” In hospice, we would offer families a time of respite where others would care for their family member for a few days or so. This gave the families breathing space to recoup and prepare to begin caring for their family member once again. A vacation should offer us the same room to breathe before we pick the tasks of our daily living.
But, in order for the breathing space to happen, we need to vacate something we previously occupied. This may mean a house or office, but it could also mean the walls of responsibilities and tasks that frame our daily life. If we take our work with us can we really say we are vacationing? The “leaving behind” is just as important as the time we have set aside for our vacation.
So, with these thoughts in mind, over the next few weeks I will be pondering the ways that we can take care of ourselves when we choose to make some breathing space in our lives by leaving behind some of the things that define our daily life. Whether we choose to travel or stay at home, hit the tourist trails or visit family and friends there are things that we can do to take care of ourselves along the way.
Over the next few weeks I will be thinking about vacationing, especially how we take care of ourselves while on vacation. But I must first decide exactly what I am talking about when I use the term “vacation.”
The most common usage, the extended time of leisure…, has several shortcomings. First, vacations may not be all that extended. For many they are brief breaks from work that may be 3-4 days. Second, I have had a number of “vacations” that were anything but leisurely and recreating. Third, the cost of travel has made “staycations” much more common. So, I will be talking about the common idea of vacations, but not exclusively. I will also be talking about the other two ways of defining a vacation.
A vacation should be a respite, a healthy break, especially from your daily routine. Respite is a fancy word for “breathing space.” In hospice, we would offer families a time of respite where others would care for their family member for a few days or so. This gave the families breathing space to recoup and prepare to begin caring for their family member once again. A vacation should offer us the same room to breathe before we pick the tasks of our daily living.
But, in order for the breathing space to happen, we need to vacate something we previously occupied. This may mean a house or office, but it could also mean the walls of responsibilities and tasks that frame our daily life. If we take our work with us can we really say we are vacationing? The “leaving behind” is just as important as the time we have set aside for our vacation.
So, with these thoughts in mind, over the next few weeks I will be pondering the ways that we can take care of ourselves when we choose to make some breathing space in our lives by leaving behind some of the things that define our daily life. Whether we choose to travel or stay at home, hit the tourist trails or visit family and friends there are things that we can do to take care of ourselves along the way.
TIP - How Do I Know I Need a Vacation?
Here are a few indicators that you need a vacation.
We all need a healthy respite from our daily lives from time to time. Start planning to make some breathing space in your life today.
Blessings,
Bob
- Your internal conversation is growing increasingly angry or bitter.
- The joy in your day-to-day routine is nearly non-existent or absent.
- Your hope has taken a beating as despair becomes more evident.
- Trusting your friends and family to “be there” is feeling challenged. You find yourself less and less trusting of you co-workers and your managers.
- Your day-to-day relationships are feeling more and more difficult to carry and intrusive.
- You find that you have fewer and few small problems and more and more big ones.
- You have lost any sense of balance between your work life and your private life.
- You find yourself staying awake at night thinking about your problems and losing needed sleep.
- Finally, you have read all of these indicators and nodded your head at a good number of them.
We all need a healthy respite from our daily lives from time to time. Start planning to make some breathing space in your life today.
Blessings,
Bob
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