Do you take Vacations? How about a Mini-Vacation?

Stress is a “Killer”.  Overwork and Overwhelm are roads in that direction.

It’s the “normal” life that most of us live in the day-to-day—the Rush of our time.  But is it normal?  No.  Not by a long shot.  Then, What “way” were meant to “live”?

How about actually feeling the “moments” that happen in our lives…

Feeling (so we can appreciate them) the moments with people close to us…

Savoring the taste of that delicious food we eat…

Appreciating that special “touch” or that person looking directly into our eyes… or

Appreciating that loving pet…Or just

Breathing slowly, just feeling your breath going in and out of your body…

Spending a few extra moments watching the clouds or seeing the sun set, or listening to the birds chirping themselves to sleep…

I believe more of “those” moments … will give us more time… more life… and more living!

If you think you can’t squeeze those moments into your busy life, please…think about it again.  My guess is that you absolutely can.  It’s all about what we really want in our lives.

Our bodies and minds weren't meant for pushing, pushing, pushing.  No time to look up—just whizzing past all those delicate small moments that are randomly sprinkled into our lives here and there—unscheduled. 

What better way to show our thankfulness for the very breath we breathe, than to “STOP” and feel the moments—one… by… one…. Sometimes we need to put a “break” into our normal routine to re-set that appreciation.

I’m pretty much always open to “going” any time anyone asks me if I want to go just about any place they’re going.  So when my daughter suggested we go about 4 hours away to visit my granddaughter (her niece) at the state park where she works at her new job, I was absolutely ready to go.

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So… here we go.   Long drive to the park.  The “cabin”—well, it’s pretty nice.  We’re in the midst of the woods with deer visiting, squirrels playing all around, and birds! Birds of all kinds.  Quiet… Peaceful.  There are other cabins near, but outside on the screened porch, looking at the occasional fish jumping up, it feels private and sooo very peaceful.

At times like this, could our thoughts still go to the negative? Sure.  And it could be a simple, easy thing to let worried thoughts or work-thoughts creep in; or thoughts of how this or that could be better.

For instance, things like…I forgot my nightgown; or that we have no salt & pepper for breakfast eggs; that there are lots of mosquitos on the trails; that it’s really hot.  And we got very little sleep; and our healthy food…well…(oh, well). Forget the Negatives.

Absolutely what do those things matter, amidst all the good?

And the reason we got such little sleep is that we played a very entertaining board game until late, then told stories of times from the past. And the laughter was good.  What fun we would have missed if we hadn’t done that!  Then we didn’t want to stay up so late the second night… but we did it again!  I may even decide I like board games!

And one evening we went to town for burgers, then afterward walked the streets of the old historical town, and ate frozen yogurt by a statue honoring union soldiers of the civil war.

I’ve always enjoyed doing things, but have enjoyed my work a lot and my imagination doesn’t naturally slant in the direction of “fun things” to do.  When someone else comes up with an idea though, I do like to enjoy it with them.  And what a great evening we had!

My main point here is this: If you feel you need to change some things up, consider taking some time off.  Just a day or two would do.  Figure out some way to make it work—to do something fun that you really may not have time or money to do.  Just figure out a way to make something work.  And determine to enjoy it.  Something totally out of your ordinary.  One single day can make a total difference in re-writing the next days of your life.

You may have to sleep in a sweaty shirt (if you forget your night clothes); you may have to throw some left-over meat you brought from home (thank you for smoking that meat for us, Farrell!) into your breakfast eggs to season them.  You may have to be too hot.  Or too cold.  Or maybe lose some sleep.  Or not eat very healthy.  But you just might get in exchange, a refreshed and renewed slant on your day-to-day life.  And you may get to enjoy it over and over again, as you remember those couple of days and the experiences you’ve felt, as you get to re-live it from this day forward!

Then…when you are back to your regular life…I believe you’ll have more energy…more brainpower…more peace and calm…to invest into your “everyday”.  Of course, when I returned home, I had to recover a little while—get some rest, etc. Oh, and laundry, etc. but I just used that time to give me some time to think of being ready for a new day.  (Thankfully my husband fixed supper.)

There are tips and tricks to help with overwhelm, and overwork—and I can help you if you’d like.  But maybe if you set your mind to thinking, and give your imagination permission to loosen up a bit, and see if you can come up with a way to steal a day or two to do something totally different from your regular routine—something enjoyable.

For Sure…it’s worth trying it.  And it just may make it easier for you to enjoy some of those day-to-day unscheduled moments that drift through our days, usually un-noticed.

I hope for you to find some extra enjoyment in your life!

Sharon