The Irony of Vacations — Total Soulful Journey

Vacation travel allows for expansion. Whether you prefer beaches or mountains is irrelevant. What really matters is taking time out to gain new perspectives, renew our energy and enjoy our lives. We all love to dream of our escapes. Some of us travel more than others. Some travel great distances and others stay close to home. The important lesson is to travel not to escape daily life, but to enhance it! Vacation allows us quality time where we can build lasting memories with friends and family. Yes, we love to capture moments by camera to share with others, but be mindful to stay fully present and not get pulled into social media for too long.

Vacation is somewhat ironic to me, especially the older I get. We work so hard to prepare for our trips; doing laundry, packing, preparing foods to take with us so that we can have time away to relax and restore ourselves. Then when we get home and there is more stress involved with unpacking and washing loads of dirty laundry that we get sucked get back into the daily grind. We go away to destress and somehow that all goes out the window when we get home. By being mindful, however, we can avoid allowing the stress to return into our lives and continue to enjoy the relaxing memories from our adventures.

I love the getting away, especially when I take time to do things for myself. For example, we are lake people. We love to go to Lake Cumberland in Kentucky with our special group of friends. There is lots of laughter, boating and bonfire time. But, my favorite part of my latest getaway were my solo morning walks and runs. There's a special stillness and peace that I enjoy as the sun begins to rise. I love hearing the roosters crow on nearby farms and the feel of the sun warming my skin. And burning those morning calories means that I can eat more chips on the boat. Oops, did I really just admit that? Just kidding! No, really I love feeling the sweat dripping down my back because I know that by challenging myself I am not only clearing my mind and reflecting on life, but I am also ridding myself of toxins.

So be mindful that summer is a time to slow down and enjoy life. We want to make time count, but don't allow yourself to get stressed over any part of the vacation process. Try to be low maintanance with packing. Breathe deeply when preparing and also upon return. Travel can definitely help us to appreciate our lives and to also remember that there is no place like home when we return. I am grateful for all of my experiences traveling the world, but I am always happy to get home to my dogs who show me unbelievable unconditional love.

Happy travels and stay safe,

Libby

P.S. - We are not guaranteed another day. Treasure the life you live for it can change in the blink of an eye. Forget about spending large amounts of money on material things and replace that with experiences with the ones you love. In the end it's the memories and not the things that you will cherish forever.

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