TIME FOR VACATION

“Once a year, go someplace you have never been before”,
attributed to Dalai Lama.

Tunnel vision,

I am planning on doing so this summer. I will go somewhere I have never been before. I will not allow myself to think about my job for even a second. I will not take my laptop, and I will have no access to Internet. 

I think it is time to detox from the job, and correct the tunnel vision I have developed in my daily routine. 

This summer, I hope to meet new people and hear interesting stories. This would be quite a change from my everyday existence that is strictly rationed between three major activities: sleep, preparation for work, and work. 

A may even sing to myself “I want to break free”, and every morning get up with the “carpe diem” mentality.
 
As I age, the lack of freedom in my life becomes more acute. When not on vacation, I have to chisel out small niches of “free” time within my days. These are the only hours when I feel in control of my life.
 
If life is so short, why cannot we make it more of a celebration? Does this depend upon our attitude and mindset? Probably… 

Does it depend on how much thought and time we invest in what we do every moment of our life? May be… Ceremonies and holidays, for instance, are carefully planned and slowly and thoughtfully executed. What activity in our everyday life do we prepare for, and thoughtfully proceed with? 

Everything I do today is done in a hurry, my days are stabbed by clock-checking and anxieties that rush me from one place to another. I feel like a disposable ping pong ball in the hands of a mindless player.
 
Here is something I read recently; it is true but painful: “…the saddest adult lesson of all: … so much of life was just something to get through.” (The dogs of Littlefield, Suzanne Berne).

I hope that your summer is not something that you will just get through.