"Mini-Vacation"

Five Minute vacations...Several years ago I read about this technique. A way to unwind, rejuvenate, and calm yourself is to take 5 minutes and visualize something wonderful, look at a beautiful photo or landscape, listen to beautiful music, and for 5 minutes in the middle of your hectic life you can be on vacation. I was skeptical at the time, thinking that 5 minutes couldn't possibly make that big of a difference. However, I have since learned how important these little "mini-vacations" can be in my life. I have one "mini-vacation" on my way to work. As I am driving on 430 which takes me to my job, there is a point as I round a curve and look ahead, and the river comes into view. Small swells of hills lie on either side of the highway and as I approach the bridge, the sun is usually just rising into the sky and reflecting on the water. A fine mist floats just above the river and I can look around and see Pinnicle Mountain in the distance on one side, and The Big Dam Bridge on the other. Houses are perched upon the highest points above the river in my rear view mirror and they remind me of photos I have seen of distant places, and for those few moments I am on vacation. I soak up the sunshine and feel the excitement of something out of my normal routine. For that moment in time, I forget where I am going, all the worries that may have kept me up the night before, and I forget what lies ahead. I am in the moment. Taking in the sights and the smells coming in through my opened window. Making note of a boat on the water, or a bird swooping down to catch a fish. I feel all the feelings of a child looking onto such a scene, and try to draw in as much as I can through all of my senses. And then it is past, and I pull into the turn lane to take the exit to my job. But I am different somehow. I feel freer, lighter, that anything could be possible now. And no matter what I face after that, I can deal with it much better. I feel calmer when I get to work and can enjoy the day in a way that I couldn't have otherwise. So I have found other places, and ways to experience that same feeling of a "mini-vacation". One of them is listening to music. There are some pieces of music that give me those same sensations. Try it sometimes. When you are completely stressed out and ready to stroke, find something that appeals to you and take a 5 minute vacation and see if you don't feel better afterwards. Let me know what you would appeal to you and cause you to feel as though you were away on vacation. I would be interested to hear how you spend your "mini-vacation".

Today's Inspiration

Stress is the trash of modern life - we all generate it but if you don't dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life. ~Danzae Pace