The Importance of Vacations

What has happened to the vacation in America, those weeks sporadically taken throughout the year to rejuvenate, relax, and most importantly to get away from it all.  It seems that for the most part, vacations have gone by the wayside; not entirely, but mostly.  If you look at the European culture, vacations play a much bigger role in their lives than they do in ours here.   People in Europe are accustomed to taking almost twice as much vacation time as we do here in the States.  Perhaps its because they realize the importance of spending uninterrupted time with family or simply the importance of getting way from the black hole that is the work place.  Vacations, either a week, or simply a few days away, are necessary to maintaining our sanity and well being.  If we continually stay around work, connected to all that is going on, we will inevitably build up the amount of stress in our lives which will eventually lead to health problems down the road.  Taking a vacation is akin to turning off your cell phone or computer every so often so it can wind down, re-boot, and revitalize itself.  For some people, it is extremely hard to leave work behind, even on vacation.  Over the years I have seen too many people, on vacation, tied into work via their laptop, cell phone, or some other mobile device.   That's not vacation, especially when you are with your family.   People would be better off to turn their cell phones on silent, or better yet, leave them at home and bring a watch with them to tell time.  If you are on vacation and your employer knows it, there is no reason to bring a cell phone or laptop, simply a camera.

Talking about vacation, it doesn't have to be a week spent on a beach in the Mediterranean, all it has to be is a place that is not your home and is not connected to the world (preferably).  For myself, a quick vacation entails a 3.5 hour drive to Vermont where luckily, there is no cell phone service at the campsite, no electricity, and no people.   Everyone has their idea of a vacation, and we should all take more of them.  Ideally, I would think vacation would be a relaxing time away.  Some people like to fill their "vacations" with activities from dawn till dusk, running themselves ragged just as they would at home, often times with even more stress because of hotels, planning, etc.  (Trust me, I have been part of this type of vacation).  There is something to be said, however, to getting away and not doing anything.  Sitting on a deck overlooking a mountain lake with a book all day would be perfect, or simply staring at the lake day dreaming.  Our brains and bodies need down time, a time to unwind and let the stress of the world drift away, at least for a little bit.  For some people it is tough to get away as they are always concerned with work, who will do their job when they are gone, or how will things be when they return.  Work doesn't matter.  As I heard a good friend put it quite succinctly last week, "We are all replaceable when it comes to work."  I think he hit the nail on the head.  There is always someone else who can do our job when we are not there, maybe not as well, but they can do it.  However, when it comes to family, we are irreplaceable.  No one can do our job in terms of family the way we can nor would anyone want to probably.  Time invested with your family will pay far larger dividends than time invested in work. 

Vacations.  I know that I don't take enough of them myself.   But I see the value in them, the value in doing nothing for a period of time to bring a sense of peace and calm to my body and mind.  I am sure that everyone reading this has hit a time in their life when they don't know if they are coming or going, what day it is, or what they need to do next week.  This is a sure sign that it is time for a vacation.  We would all do well to get more in tune with ourselves and realize when we need a break, some time off, to get ourselves back together.  Too many of us these days forget to take care of ourselves.  We are too focused on everything around us that our own health and family become a blur in the background.  This is our stability that gets us through the work week.  If we continually push ourselves to the point of exhaustion, there will be nothing left for us to fall back on or we won't know how.  A big part of taking a vacation is remembering how to let go of everything and not worry.  If we can re-teach ourselves how to act like a child, be more concerned with the simple things in life like the sun coming up every day, or the ants marching across the deck in single file, vacations will be easier to take and work will hopefully be less stressful when we get back there.  Today, think about the last time you went on vacation.  Is it time for another vacation?  It very well might be, even if it is a long weekend away from every day life.  Relax, unwind, and get yourself back together.