Mindful Vacation

Vacation is supposed to be a time to relax and enjoy some time off but sometimes it can be almost more stressful than staying home and doing what you normally do. Have you ever finished a vacation and thought, “I need a vacation from my vacation?” I know that sounds strange but it happens all of the time.

First there is the planning of the vacation. This can take weeks but once all the reservations are in place things move smoothly until the week before vacation. Then you think of everything that needs to be completed before you can leave. Once on your way to the destination you can relax and leave it all behind for a while hopefully. A few days in you may start to worry about what is waiting for you when you return. That feeling of relaxation disappears and you keep trying to feel relaxed and get that feeling back but the thought of what you have to do in the future is still there. By the time you return home you are frustrated and just know you have dozens to hundreds of emails waiting for you with lots of work to do and you feel no less relaxed than before you left. There is a way to keep that feeling from happening.

Recently I went on a vacation with my husband. The first half was work related for him but then we had the last half of the week to play. So we went to Joshua Tree National Park to enjoy a day. In the first 30 minutes I thought “this is nothing like the Hoodoo’s in Bryce Canyon… the arches are so amazing, why is this a National Park… the views in Zion are so much more than this… I only have one more day of vacation so what will we do with it….should I cover that day at the office or not when we get back… should I respond to that email before I get back or wait until I get home.” I know that sounds silly but I was not allowing myself to be in the moment. Here I am in this amazing National Park comparing it to other parks I had been to, worrying about only having one more day of vacation, and what I should be doing in the future.  I was not allowing myself to enjoy the moment. So I practiced something I have been doing regularly for the past few months – Mindfulness. Within minutes I was able to relax back to a level where the day was amazing. I appreciated the beauty in front of me for what it is. We had a great day at the Park hiking and driving through it to complete another fabulous day in California before returning home.

Did I still have emails waiting for me when I returned? Of course. But I didn’t let any of that keep me from enjoying each day I had. If I had let my worries take over I would not have enjoyed my trip as much as I did. Comparing the day to other days also does not improve enjoyment. When we start comparing activities to previous ones they will rarely live up to the memories we have. In this case I was comparing apples and oranges. All of the parks are beautiful in different ways. I also would not enjoy the day by returning emails unless it helped me relax in some way. Honestly, though, there are always more emails so letting them just be there and not pay attention to them while away was the best thing for me. For some, checking emails occasionally during a vacation can help with the level of relaxation because they have an eye on what is going on at home. But for most, stepping away from technology and just enjoying the few days of vacation we get is the only way to relax.

We as a society have very few days set in our schedules for true relaxation and enjoyment unless you love your job. Even if you do, it is still work. Being mindful of your day with or without work present can help you enjoy each moment a little more than normally.