“He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul’s estate.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
We just got back from vacation. We’re calling it — The Wedding Tour. Two weddings, two rehearsal dinners, lots of relatives and friends, special events, 1900 road miles, 
and many joyous moments. The couples were absolutely lovely. Their celebrations of the beginning of wedded life set in spectacular settings of beauty and serenity.
Yesterday on our drive home from our vacation, we shared that we needed one.
And yes, it’s vacation time! I see distant license plates traveling on the highways. The airlines are adding extra flights to their summer schedule. I know that the national parks are fully gearing up. Most school students have sprinted out school doors. And I even heard the ice cream truck yesterday. Vacation, indeed.
Does the Vacation Bell Ring For You?
No matter if you are juggling two jobs, own a business, work part-time, set your own schedule, or head into the usual 8 to 5 job – the inner vacation bell beckons to us all.
But occasionally we fail to hear it within.
Sometimes we opt to just continue working for lots of reasons — sparse finances, limited time, family commitments, and lack of energy. I’ve heard many people express “It’s easier not to go on vacation.” The rationale? You have to work twice as hard prior to a vacation and upon your return — just to stay level with the workload. Perhaps you have even said it.
Another reason for not taking time off from work is a more covert and unexpressed one. Who would I be without work for a week? What’s my identity away from my business?
Is it difficult for you to not be tethered to your workplace? Can you only take off time with a cell phone strapped to you waiting for any quasi work emergency? Imagine picking up that call while touring the Eiffel Tower? Do you need to check your email every hour to make sure you’re not missing any work issue when you are watching your niece get married? Or do you feel compelled to finish that report while the kids are on the beach — without you?
Ahh, you may say – it’s different for me. My work is so important. Really? Do you want to replay that story?
If you think you must connect at all times to work, perhaps you are over-identifying with it while under-identifying with your inner being? That place of wholeness, joy, playfulness, integrity, and connectedness. Aka, you. That person that will be around a lot longer than your work identity.
Stepping Away from the Work Routine
Being wise at work requires each of us to step back from our usual work rituals and patterns, now and then. It gives us space.
When we do, we gain perspective. Our minds start clearing from those nagging work stories. We stop twitching from anticipating our next work problem. Our body sensations get calmer, less striated with adrenalin surges. We start to relax. Perhaps even laugh more. We are able to soften more into our inner being, into our true self. We don’t take ourselves so seriously.
Vacations allow us to access our human wholeness — more easily, more readily.
The Well of Rejuvenation
Our recent Wedding Tour wasn’t exactly a vacation. We got away from some of our work routines. Yes. We got out of the house. Yes. We spent money. Yes. We enjoyed ourselves. Yes.
And one essential element was missing. Rejuvenation.
Remember when you step away from work, it’s important to make your time rejuvenating for you. Vacation means re-energizing your body, mind, spirit, and emotions. Renewing your vigor. Hitting the refresh button. Staying in the present. Re-booting. Recharging your true self.
The range of possibilities for restoring our well of human wholeness is endless. We know it can cost thousands or pennies. Take place in the city or the wilderness. Gone alone or joined with the family. Participated in for 24 hours or 24 weeks. So many options.
We need to recognize that what we choose to do during our time away from work is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. For example, three people may want to spend time doing art on vacation. One might choose to visit The Prado in Madrid. Another may join a group of watercolorists painting landscapes. And yet another is rejuvenated when mixing and exploring finger paints with his preschooler. Each is creating art in his or her own way – feeling rich and rejuvenated.
How the Well of Rejuvenation flows for you is your mystery to unfold. I hope you will dip into your well this summer, find the just-right experience for you, and flourish. What might that be? How will you celebrate your time away from work?
This day, as always, may you be Wise At Work.
