But What Now?

I returned a week ago today from a 3 week trip to Myanmar (Burma) with a few days on the end in Bangkok. Every time I travel or even get away from my “real life” for more than a couple of weeks, I come back changed in some way. Taking time off, really getting away for more than 2 weeks (at the very least) is vital to recharge my batteries once in a while.

I get my 3 week vacation once a year, that is the best one. We always travel to a place we haven’t been before along with some places we have, like Bangkok. Work responsibilities are the farthest thoughts in our minds, if we think of them at all. That is so important. I know too many people who leave work for a vacation and end up bringing their jobs with them. That is not a vacation and that is not getting away.

Taking time off clears your head of all your day to day noise. Traveling to a completely different environment really facilitates this because nothing is familiar your thoughts are directed elsewhere and you become (at least I do) more fully present in the moment. Just about every time I’ve traveled, I’ve allowed myself more quiet time and when my mind becomes quiet I am open to receiving new ideas and thoughts about new directions I might take in my life.

I remember making decisions about finishing a college degree years ago after spending a couple of mostly solitary weeks in Boston while my sister worked. And when I got back, I enrolled in classes and 2 years later I had my degree.

A couple of times, many years ago when I was unemployed, I knew I needed to get away and rethink my life so I got in my car and drove. The first time was shortly after I first moved to Seattle, I got on I-90 and just started heading west. I made it all the way to Chicago before turning back. I was going to go and visit my family in Connecticut, but a voice in my head told me it wasn’t a good time. That voice turned out to be very correct, my parents were in the middle of getting a divorce.

Another time I got in the car with my dog, Hannah, and headed for the Oregon coast. I stayed in inexpensive cabins on the beach and spent my days walking along the vast dunes with Hannah having the time of her life running all over the place. When I returned each time, many things changed in my life.

When I left for this trip I was feeling very sad about the loss of my cat, Bangs, so it was also very good to not have to deal with work issues. But, the best thing was I had time to connect with her spiritually, I really felt her with me in these strange new places. This was also a way for me to focus and get quiet. What’s interesting to me now that I am back home is that I really felt her presence at times in these strange places, more so than I have since I’ve been back.

So, what do we do to re-capture the sense of quiet and also the sense of adventure that taking a long vacation gives us? One way is to meditate. This is something I’ve known for a long time and I’ve had varying degrees of success practicing meditation. Well, another gift my sweet cat Bangs has given me is the goal of learning animal communication. And guess what you need to do to get quiet? You need to meditate.

So, I recently bought a CD on beginning animal communication by Carol Gurney and at the end of it she has a wonderful guided meditation spoken in a dreamy, calm, quiet voice. I allowed myself to listen and sit through it for the first time this morning and it really worked. So, for me, this is how I am going to approach meditation and getting quiet and relaxed every day. I will set aside the 15 minutes needed to do this every morning and in time I will get better at it.

Other ways you can quiet your mind is to do tai chi or yoga or even just exercising, like walking somewhere every day or most days. Before I left for my trip, I’d stopped exercising. While we were in Myanmar, we visited new places which required lots of walking and even climbing. When we were in Bagan, we climbed old brick and stone stairs barefoot to the tops of ancient temples. Not only did this require amazing focus so we didn’t trip and fall. There were no buildings codes in Pagan when these were built and one riser could be twice the height of the one before it. And when we returned to our hotel, we felt our bodies. We felt very alive, albeit with tired feet!

Bottom line, plan wonderful vacations, get quiet time, love yourself completely, focus on the present and be kind to yourself always.