Only a Day Away...

To me, the idea of a vacation is a paradoxical concept on so many levels. The word vacation supposed to mean 'a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel'. It should be a frequent thing, right? For health, vitality, and across-the-board well-being of all people. It only makes sense that we would need to take a break from the very things that make us an overworked, overbooked, underpaid, stressed-out, hyper-caffeinated, sleep-deprived, worn, weary working class society.

It seems almost ironic that most people work hard for their vacations. Vacations are something to earn in this society. So people go insane working hard for a break from working hard only to come back to find that insane working state of mind they were in before they left to get rest and start it all over again. Furthermore, many people work under a system of carefully calculated mandated days labeled 'vacation' that are both given AND taken away. So, this little system creates the pressure to take a really restful, amazing vacation when the opportunity is achieved. When really, this build- up creates vacations consisting of trying to get as much done (seeing people, places, things) as possible in a relatively short period of time. Then to return home feeling the opposite of rested... taking days to actually face the usual day-to-day responsibilities and reality fled from in the first place. Hence the expression 'needing a vacation from your vacation'.

However, while the vacation is actually happening, it is usually a really amazing experience. Consecutive hours without thinking about work, alarm clocks, paychecks. Even the feeling of returning home is complex. The wonderful feeling of familiarity of space, friends, surroundings, usual hangouts, normalcy met with the yearning to go straight back to where you were coming from before the ordinary daily dramas get a chance to ensue.

So... I guess it kind of doesn't make sense to go far away to 'get away from it all', just to be glad to get home. And, while we vacate to rest and recoup just to return home to catch up on all the stuff we haven't been doing while we have been in a different place trying to get a whole lot of unrelated other stuff done. Yet, without all this coming and going we would go insane.

I often forget that sometimes just getting out of your element can feel like a complete vacation of sorts. I was reminded of this lesson by a group of dear friends the other day. It's easy to get caught up in the to-do lists and daily expectations that you forget you really don't have to go far. Just hanging out with friends you haven't spent time with in a while can be completely revitalizing. Throw in a little good food, drinks, luxury....you'll feel rested and rejuvenated in a way you thought you could never achieve without cashing in all your vacation days and jet-setting to a far away place.