Many of us (myself included) have some degree of difficulty leaving our work behind, letting go and allowing ourselves to have a real vacation.  I know many people who are employed, have paid vacation time available to them, and still don’t take it.  It just keeps accruing.  Then, those of us who have a business, or are self-employed in some capacity, feel that if we took time off, our business would suffer.  We fear that we’d fall too far behind and/or lose clients and customers to competitors who are out there marketing 24/7, 365 days a year.  

Even when we do manage to get away, how many of us take our computers and business cell phones with us and spend a great deal of that vacation actually working?  We just can’t seem to let it go.  Now I know for many of us, the fact is that we love our work.  It’s deeply fulfilling and at times exciting.  We don’t want to let go of something we love so much and embrace the “unknown”.

I’ve recently come to see the errors of my ways.  On a recent week-long family vacation, I took my computer and worked the first few days for at least 3 hours of the day (my husband, by the way, did as well, while our kids basically vegged in front of the TV.)  However, after a few days of adjusting to a different environment, enjoying doing different things with our kids, and absorbing the deep peace around me, I felt my vibration begin to shift.   For one, it became easier to remain in a state of gratitude, and that in itself lifted me up to a place where I could allow in the benefits of a true vacation.  I’ve outlined them below briefly.  This is by no means a complete list.  So, please feel free to add to this list, and share with us the benefits you have derived from allowing yourself to enjoy a true vacation.

1.    Seeing life from a new perspective.  You are no longer surrounded by the familiar.  Particularly if you go someplace new, it takes a while to “get your bearings.” You are forced to let things go and let life flow. This is a good thing.  Letting life take us on an adventure allows us to loosen our control, loosen our grip on how things “should” be.  We begin to take in a different perspective on our relationships, our body, our environment and perhaps even our business.  We are open to new and perhaps innovative ideas.  (And yes, you can bring along a little notebook or journal to jot down some of these new ideas.  You’ll have time to flesh them out when you get back.)

2.  Breaking up the routine.  We are all creatures of habit. How easily we slip into routine. We get comfortable being in the same house, taking the same route to work, the grocery store, or our kids’ activities.  It may be boring, but it’s familiar. We can get complacent in our relationships and our work doing things the same way.   It’s good to break that up once in a while and try something new.  You never know what wonderful new thing you can learn by breaking with routine.  You never know how expanded your life could be until you break it up and try something new.

3.    Reconnecting with your spouse, children, family, friends and/or your Self.  Whoever you choose to go on a vacation with (even if you choose to go alone) you have the opportunity of getting to know those close to you better and to appreciate them more.   Particularly within our family, we have duties, responsibilities and a busy life attending to so much that we don’t normally take the time to really “see” those around us.  On vacation we may suddenly notice how resourceful our spouse is, for example, or how creative our children are, or how beautiful we truly are.  We now have the opportunity to observe and enjoy. We also have the time to talk, clear the air and resolve issues.   This can be tricky of course, but if we resolve to approach these opportunities from a place of love we can discover a new, deeper dimension to our relationships.

4.    Healing the mind and body.  Vacations are a great time to unwind and allow yourself to slip into deep relaxation.   Our bodies serve us well. It supports us while we share our unique gifts in the world.  We’d kind of be lost without it. The better we take care of our bodies, the longer it can serve us.  Deep relaxation is a powerful healing force that improves our immune system, and acts as a healing balm in every cell and function of our body.  Make sure your vacation allows for periods of deep relaxation.

5.    Hearing another voice besides the ego.  Sometime we get so wrapped up in doing things our way.  We believe our way is right because we have done it that way for so long and it works to some degree.  On vacation, we have the opportunity of relaxing our ego and hearing other voices, other possibilities, about how things could be done.  Often these new ideas can make a quantum difference in our business and our lives.

6.    A sense of timelessness.   Vacations, particularly if you resist the temptation to book yourself every moment of the day on tours or activities (and I’d highly recommend you do resist that temptation), you can benefit from a sense of timelessness.  We get so trapped in time.  How many times a day do you check your watch,  cell phone or clock and realize you need to hurry it up or rush off to make it somewhere on time.  Is that not exhausting and stressful?  A vacation is your chance to let that go and realize there is more to life than following the dictates of the clock.  It’s amazing how long the day and evening really can be when we’re in the moment, just enjoying.  If you ever question the benefits of being in the present moment, read one of Eckhart Tolle’s books.  It’s truly life transforming.

7.    Discovering skills you never knew you had.  Who knew I could learn to windsurf at my age, and do it pretty well?  I didn’t until my daughter said she wanted to try windsurfing, and I went along for the ride.  Do you have talent you never knew you had, like rock climbing, sailing, kayaking, scuba diving or speaking a foreign language?  You’ll never know till you try. Vacations give you a perfect opportunity to do just that.  You’ll feel pretty good about yourself just for even trying, and who knows…you may discover a life-long passion.

8.    Connecting with Nature.  Particularly if your vacation includes being in nature, you have the opportunity to benefit from connection to Source.  The same life force that created you also creates and sustains trees, flowers, water and mountains. One of my favorite poems by the Indian poet Tagore, goes like this, “The same stream of life that runs through the world runs through my veins night and day and dances in rhythmic measure…It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth into numberless blades of grass, and breaks into tumultuous waves of flowers.”   How healing would it be to meditate on that for a minute while you are in nature?

9.    The opportunity to play and enjoy.  You’ve hopefully picked a vacation you will enjoy.  And, although stuff happens on a vacation and things don’t always go as you planned (sometimes a good thing!), the opportunity to play and enjoy is a prime motivating factor for going in the first place.   Playing increases our creativity.  And creativity is essential to our work and our relationships.  Joy is a similar energy to gratitude. They are both energies that enhance your immune system, improve your relationships and attract more good into every area of your life.  Allow yourself to play.  Revel in joy. Soak it in. Celebrate it!

10.    Enhancing gratitude.  Lastly, but certainly not least, vacations make it easier to practice proactive gratitude.  If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know how essential a practice of gratitude can be and how it can transform your life.  When we are out of our routine, seeing and experiencing new things, it’s so much easier to appreciate.  We can appreciate the beauty around us, the time we have to share with our friends or family, the peace we feel, a new food or a new experience.  The list can go on.   A good way to begin a practice of proactive gratitude is to jump start it on vacation, then when you get back home, visit the Gratitude Experiment site often to support what you’ve begun.

 Now it’s your turn. Share with us how a vacation has benefited you in a particular way.