I’m on vacation. I have amazingly generous parents who invite me, my siblings and our families to join them each year on the white sand beaches of Cancun, Mexico. I love it here! I feel my body relaxing as soon as I get off the plane and feel the moist air cradle my humidity starved skin. I accomplish very little each day. I am on day four and I have read a total of five sentences, written zero tweets and this is my first blog post. My daughters have already devoured several books. We all vacation differently. Some enjoy doing absolutely nothing while others prefer to go on activity driven adventures.
I don’t believe vacations are one size fits all. We owe it to ourselves to find the type of vacation that helps us recharge. It’s part of taking care of yourself. It’s imperitive to our health and well being that we take time out each day for self care but what does that look like exactly? The answer depends on your preferences. Do you recharge by being alone in the wilderness or the library or a coffee shop? Do you relax when getting a message, pedicure or facial? Does listening to music inspire you? How about reading books or taking in art? Self care ideally takes anywhere from a few minutes to several days. It’s important to create a list of the activities and experiences that rejuvenate you from the free and require little time to the more expensive and time consuming.
Vacations are usually on the extreme end with regard to time and expense. They are generally reserved for a few times a year. For a vacation to truly count as self care it has to fill you up. Give some thought to the types of things that recharge you and plan your vacation accordingly. Keep things flexible. Sometimes an adventure is just what you need and at others a lot of nothing is the answer.
This year for me it’s a combination of hanging around just soaking in the sound of the ocean and attending daily exercise classes. I finally have time to be sore!
A note of reality – I understand that not everyone has the funds to go to the Caribbean. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the kindness of my parents. There are times in life when we simply don’t get what we want. If your budget won’t allow the kind of vacation you really want, come up with creative ways of getting at least a bit of what you need to help you relax and fill up.
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