I vacationed out West this month and I chose not to carry my phone or wear a watch during my 12 days of travels. My way of feeling time-off is to connect where I am at outside of time, in a new space. I practiced “being” while we traveled and hiked. I felt like a sponge soaking up the new areas and people we spent time with. It was refreshing not having an agenda beyond where we were laying our head at night. My homecoming is being blessed with watch-less/phoneless evenings and I’m extending my holiday a little bit longer! What could open up for you in a vacation mentality in your summer work week?
Read something wildly inspirational.
You know when you travel to new places, there are a lot of ways the area explains itself to outsiders. Plaques. Portraits with explanations of what was happening at the time. The West highlighted the people and lands that they preserved from over 100 years ago. I was really struck by the way people roped off areas of sequoia trees that they wanted to save. Had they not advocated to stop cutting, I would not have been able to witness the old growth trees. The picture shows me walking up to one of the giant Sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park. It inspired me to hear the story of the western lands both past and present. It left me wondering about my choices of what I want to preserve for 7 generations. The loudest answer is learning. I’m reading, “Finding your way in a wild new world: Reclaim your true nature to create the life you want” by Martha Beck. What are you reading that is inspiring you? Please leave a comment below, I would like to know!
Wonder and Surprise
My favorite part of vacation is the endless surprises of new views, smells, people in a new culture, and thoughts that come in the relaxed state of vacation. Did you know that free flowing thoughts in the shower come because we have a chance to relax and give the mind a rest? That is when we are most creative! The driving vacation offered new vistas around every bend. Surprises followed me as we traveled through Mohave, the Sierra’s, the coast of California and San Francisco. It was wonderful experiencing new cultures and nature’s gifts. It’s refreshing to experience wonder. Try shifting your mindset to wonder and see what grows in your day today!
Have you booked time for your get-away this summer? Block your time to relax today!
Grass Grows
Focus on what you want to grow in your life. I was gone 12 days and the grass in my backyard reached mid-calf. I was looking for a tractor to bale it! I couldn’t help but see the metaphor: Long grass was a great visual reminder of growth. What we keep doing regularly keeps growing. Bad habits or good keep growing the more we repeat them. Next time you mow, ponder what you are growing in your life with repetition. Is there an area you want to learn or grow stronger in? What practicing do you want to step up in your life?
My homecoming has inspired a desire to keep viewing new sights.
Having trouble shutting off? Book a session to put work and life back into balance!
Namaste,
Laura