Not everyone gets this gift, but for most of us, summer brings that long-awaited time—a chance to rest, to let go, to restore ourselves, to come alive again.
Yet we often miss it. We chase vacation spots that turn out to resemble the frantic cities we left behind: crowded beaches, noisy hotels, villages overrun with music and traffic and noise. We find ourselves dreaming of the quiet neighborhood we came to escape.
Maybe there's a deeper reason. We get so caught up in the promise of distraction and entertainment—often forced, rarely what we actually want—that we forget to rethink our vacation altogether. We lack the courage to ask ourselves a harder question: what do we truly need in order to return to work refreshed, genuinely renewed, at peace?
Let me suggest a few possibilities, rooted in the real world we live in. Choose at least one that speaks to you.
- Use vacation time to rebuild your physical and spiritual life. A little exercise. A change in what you eat. A quiet walk. A visit to a beautiful, remote place. Write down your thoughts. Read a book that makes you think, opens new ideas, introduces you to someone's exemplary life. Gather with others to sing, to dance, to play the games of childhood—the ones that can shave years off us. Listen to good music. Listen again until you know it by heart.
- Find time, even an hour or half hour, to be alone. It restores your faith in yourself and in others. It lets you question the way you act. It helps you name your mistakes and harsh moments. It lets you stand up straight again and wake the part of you that wants to serve, to stand with others—especially those nearby, those you've neglected. It reminds you that, when all is said and done, you are privileged. Millions live without the basics. You are not one of them.
Awaken, then, the desire to venture out—to taste again the joy of being alive, exactly as you are, with all your limits, yet certain that you have something of yourself, newly found, to offer to others.