If you haven't taken yours yet---please do it!! And if you have a choice take it by the water, preferably the ocean or my favorite--the lake. Don't make it an obligatory vacation in the sense of taking it with people who keep you tense rather than relaxed. Serenity is what to search for in making your plans.
That doesn't mean to say that partying is a no no. If that's what takes your mind off all the issues you're struggling with---go for it. But keep it to a minimum...otherwise you're trading one problem for another. But do bring along a diversion.
Good conversation, books, painting and water splashing truly are restorative. If you need constant activity, just take only a short time out to enjoy the above, but do give yourself the gift of removal---removal from all those bills, health worries, unwanted emails, texts, and of course people!!
I personally need the break from paperwork. At times I have really been totally overwhelmed by these kinds of demands. So sitting here at my lake home and peacefully working on the documentation of the memoir I've been writing for over six years (obviously with some very long breaks), and doing some swimming and sunning each morning, have all been unbelievably helpful in resting my mind so I'm prepared for the pace of New York city which I have loved so very much as well.
In the past I never took advantage of this place as the getaway it can be. Now, with age, I realize its importance and I'm happy in the knowledge that there is a place for me to go to return to a quieter sense of self.
If you cannot take the time to travel to serenity, here's a way to 'vacation' sitting right in your office. Take out five to seven minutes and sit down and do the following:
With your eyes closed imagine yourself at the beach, or the lake. Talk first to your toes and then travel up your legs telling these body parts to simply relax and to feel like jelly. Continue up to your pelvic and stomach area, to your chest and arms and into your neck and your head. Think of yourself as a limp rag doll at the beach. Hear the water splashing and just concentrate on your breathing...nothing else. After awhile, send a message to all these body parts of energy, and then slowly let the good feeling take you over. Open your eyes, stretch, and return to life with a renewed sense. It is a great way to take a vacation any time you need one. You can even shorten the process so that you can do it while waiting for an elevator!
Finally, if you cannot get away by water, go someplace with just yourself even for a day or two. This too is restorative. But folks...it's still summer---take a vacation!
Hope you enjoyed the session...Be back in NYC on and off until the 15th when life down there really starts for me!
Mimi Scott, Ph.D
917 846-2449
212 721-2979
mimi@drmimiscott.com or mscott13@aol.com
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2 comments:
I'm off on a vacation now...you convinced me! Good advice to do it in an elevator...the visualizing I mean.
Thanks, Mimi. I just got back from an unexpected trip to Phoenix to spend time with my sisters. It really was a pleasure, and it felt great to go hiking and swimming and take little day trips. The sort of thing I don't normally do. It was also wonderful to be with my sisters, whom I miss very much and don't get to see as often as I would like. I was thinking some of the things you've written here. It was nice to have an actual vacation.
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