When life gets too busy, too noisy, too crowded, or too whatever ... the best thing you can do for yourself is to get away.
Seriously ... no matter what the news media tells you about the state of our economy, there's one thing worse than impending financial doom ... your own impending doom.
What's the point of hoarding for a rainy day if you won't be alive to dance in the raindrops?
So give yourself permission to leave town for a day or two and find the balance you've been putting on hold.
Where you choose to go doesn't matter. But it must be someplace that it's not easy for you to run back to or where someone you know might find you.
Once you're there, here are a few suggestions for making the most of your time away from your life.
1 - Stick to your routine as much as possible, but don't be militant about it. Sleep in if you want to, but don't stay in bed all day.
2 - Don't stress if there's no gym or pilates class where you're going. If your hotel room has a floor, you'd be amazed at the workout you can get lifting nothing but your body weight. Pushups, situps, balancing exercises, squats, leg lifts will keep you in shape until you get back to your exercise of choice. As for transportation, walking and biking will get you where you're going while keeping your mind and body fit.
3 - When it comes to food and drink, just because it's available, doesn't mean you have to consume it. As an experienced traveller, I know the temptation of partaking in the foods and beverages of the places I visit. But if too much partaking is going to lead to bloating the next morning, and prevent me from enjoying the next day, then why bother. Everything in moderation is OK. But know when to say when.
4 - Be quiet. Practice silence. Write, listen to music, listen to your thoughts, let go. Turn off the television.
5 - Doing nothing is sometimes more productive than doing too much. Don't be tempted to fill your day or plan it down to the minute. Have a plan, but plan for spontanaeity.
6 - Listen for messages from the universe. A conversation with a perfect stranger could be your inspiration for a book, a book you pick up to read might offer a solution to a nagging problem you've been struggling with, a song you hear might help you see things from a different perspective.
If you take this time for yourself, you'll find it takes just a couple of days away from your life before you start missing it.
And that, my friends, is the greatest reward of getting away ... remembering that what you left behind is priceless.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Proud To Be An American
As someone who was born outside of this country, I have always felt that the pride I feel to be an American and gratefulness I feel living in the United States -- the greatest country in the world --is greater than that felt by someone who was born here.
But I had never realized the depth of my pride and gratitude until my first visit to Washington, DC.
I have travelled extensively throughout the world and always marvelled at the ancient history and buildings of cities such as Rome and Athens. I love the U.S., but I always envied the ancient history of buildings that have managed to survive thousands of years of history and are still standing.
I've always felt a sense of disappointment that the U.S. doesn't have that history. Ours is a young nation and as such, our oldest buildings are a mere 200 plus years.
My disappointment turned to joy, however, when for my 50th birthday I was given a gift I will always treasure -- a trip to our nation's capital.
DC is a place that I've always taken for granted -- a place I always thought I'd visit. But there were other cities to conquer. And like the New Yorker who has never been to the Statue of Liberty because "I can always go there," I never went to Washington.
I am so happy that's changed.
There's nothing like being face to face with a larger than life Abraham Lincoln sitting peacefully in his memorial, oblivious to the thousands of flash bulbs and photographs of tourists who at that moment don't realize they are standing on hallowed ground.
That same statue that looked over my shoulder as I posed for a photograph was the same statue that looked over Martin Luther King's shoulder and a quarter of a million other people decades earlier as he gave his famous "I have a dream speech."
The steps of that capitol building were the same ones on which presidents have stood for decades long before I was born.
That White House is the same one that presidents that I have only read about in history books have called home.
Those bars where I had cocktails are the same ones that if the walls could talk would tell secrets that would make the Monica Lewinsky scandal look like a children's book.
Goosebumps, tears, smiles, love, gratitude -- all were just a glance away everywhere I looked during my three day stay.
Furthermore, watching this year's inauguration ceremonies was that much more meaningful having walked the streets of DC and recognizing the area.
My own political leanings disappeared while I was in D.C. They didn't matter. Because no matter who is in office, our nation's capital will always have one thing that no other city in the world will ever surpass.
It is the capital of the world's greatest nation.
But I had never realized the depth of my pride and gratitude until my first visit to Washington, DC.
I have travelled extensively throughout the world and always marvelled at the ancient history and buildings of cities such as Rome and Athens. I love the U.S., but I always envied the ancient history of buildings that have managed to survive thousands of years of history and are still standing.
I've always felt a sense of disappointment that the U.S. doesn't have that history. Ours is a young nation and as such, our oldest buildings are a mere 200 plus years.
My disappointment turned to joy, however, when for my 50th birthday I was given a gift I will always treasure -- a trip to our nation's capital.
DC is a place that I've always taken for granted -- a place I always thought I'd visit. But there were other cities to conquer. And like the New Yorker who has never been to the Statue of Liberty because "I can always go there," I never went to Washington.
I am so happy that's changed.
There's nothing like being face to face with a larger than life Abraham Lincoln sitting peacefully in his memorial, oblivious to the thousands of flash bulbs and photographs of tourists who at that moment don't realize they are standing on hallowed ground.
That same statue that looked over my shoulder as I posed for a photograph was the same statue that looked over Martin Luther King's shoulder and a quarter of a million other people decades earlier as he gave his famous "I have a dream speech."
The steps of that capitol building were the same ones on which presidents have stood for decades long before I was born.
That White House is the same one that presidents that I have only read about in history books have called home.
Those bars where I had cocktails are the same ones that if the walls could talk would tell secrets that would make the Monica Lewinsky scandal look like a children's book.
Goosebumps, tears, smiles, love, gratitude -- all were just a glance away everywhere I looked during my three day stay.
Furthermore, watching this year's inauguration ceremonies was that much more meaningful having walked the streets of DC and recognizing the area.
My own political leanings disappeared while I was in D.C. They didn't matter. Because no matter who is in office, our nation's capital will always have one thing that no other city in the world will ever surpass.
It is the capital of the world's greatest nation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
