Be sure to take your holidays....

Being on holidays is rather self-indulgent. Getting back to being able to love and serve others with grace and honour...is perhaps the gift of being able to switch off from time to time.

A recent family holiday to Japan reminded me how important it is to take our holidays; to detach from our overly connected lives and unplug for a while. Admittedly, it’s something I hadn’t really done in many years – yes to the holidays, but not really to the unplugged…perhaps for as long as six or seven years. For the best part of two weeks I parked all work-related connections. Despite professing the benefits of doing so, I had forgotten the power of surrendering and unplugging.

The wonderful time I experienced and the new discoveries I made about this amazing world of ours was a reminder of how important it is to not only take time out but, should we have the means, the benefits of leaving town.

Here are some of the benefits of leaving town:

RENEWED PERSPECTIVE – taking a leap outside your town or even better, your country, takes us out of our comfort zones and heightens our senses to the world around us. The routines that become so entrenched may be challenged and the paradigms on life may take a knock (especially at the airport security gates!). Our connections with those we usually live and work with change and even the dynamics of the relationship with those with whom we may be travelling may take on a different vibe Most impactful, I believe, is the new perspective it may give us on our everyday concerns and focus, some of which we may give way too much energy to – good and bad – reassessing the significance of the small stuff! The notion that we are a small part of a much bigger universe helps to re-calibrate our place in the world as does the history and perspectives of any new culture we encounter when travelling.

RECONNECTION with self and family/friends – holidaying gives us the opportunity to reconnect with our loved ones or others we may be travelling with, without the noise and busyness of the everyday. Spending 24hrs a day together, sometimes in closer quarters than one might otherwise, means a whole renewed way of being. Similarly, travelling on our own, which I did for a week, can mean a reconnection with oneself – soulful and reflective –uninhibited by the needs or wants of others; needing courage and at times initiative of a different kind than back home.

WISDOM AND TOLERANCE – going to another’s place, may mean we need to respect new rules or ways of living. Japan for me, with its strong social order underpinned by honour and shame, made me reassess our social order and unwritten rules. It means we may have to modify our behaviour and/or respect or appreciate other ways of seeing the world and living in it. Coming home with new knowledge and insights helps us grow and the sharing can be joyous and remind us of happy moments.

WELLBEING AND RENEWAL – the joy of discovery, the change of routine and the new perspectives that holidays and travel gift to us enhance our wellbeing and renew our sense of self in the world. The connection between being in nature (if we have the luxury of getting out of the city), and improved wellbeing is well documented. Taking time out allows us to renew and refresh, ready to re-engage in our lives, be grateful for the way we live and contribute in a meaningful way.

So next time your boss tells you to take some holidays – rejoice and embrace the opportunity.