Who needs a vacation?

When was the last time you had a real vacation? Did you know that it takes two weeks for the human body to destress from its normal routine? If you interpret a vacation as checking your emails, performing work duties, or returning phone calls, then you are not on vacation. You are working remotely without pay. How relaxing is it to be sitting on the beach in a tropical paradise with your laptop or cell phone unaware of the beauty around you? Or you schedule so many activities into your vacation that you barely have time to catch your breath. This is typically followed by the statement, “I need a vacation to get over my vacation.” Think of the root of the word, vacation. When you vacate, you leave one environment and enter a new one. This is the time to separate from the familiar and allow yourself the luxury of living in the moment of your current surroundings. Tap into your senses to the sounds, sights, smells, tastes, and feel of the moment. Open yourself to new experiences. Read a book that has been sitting on the shelf for months. As you do so, the stress of what you left behind leaves your body allowing you to renew your energy and return home reinvigorated. What did your last vacation look like and what can you do to make the next one relaxing and re-energizing?