Rooster on Kauai
What does vacation have to do with work other than a release from not doing it? On a recent vacation to Kauai, I learned that vacation is work of sorts, and it’s very important work. I perceive that we think of vacation as no work and only relaxation. In one sense it is that, but in a more important repect, it’s very important personal work; it’s work to take care of ourselves. It’s a form of work in creating balance and pauses in our lives. It is from these pauses that inspiration has a chance to blossom. Does any of this work count towards actually finding and listening to one’s authentic voice or self? Read on…
The following quote from the Dalai Lama spoke to me whilst I was on my vacation. ” Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” Even as I was sitting in the sun of a gorgeous morning in Kalaheao I was mindful that this quote of the Dalai Lama seemed appropriate.
January 16, 2013 – Reflections of a vacation in Paradise:
It is so easy to let other people dictate the mood. I look out onto the ocean which is a ways away- appearing as a mirror of glass. Birds are singing and flitting here and there. It sounds like paradise. This is definitely not the environment to rush about; pausing is inherent to the culture and environment. The rooster continues to crow in the backdrop of the chattering chirps of the smaller birds I cannot see. The sky is a beautiful blue. In the far distance I can hear a motor and the calling of more birds. Still, at 9:30 in the morning, there is a stillness in the countryside. Perhaps the day is still new and awakening slowly, but as I wait, breath enters my awakening soul for a perfect wedding day for our niece. I am slowly working at entering that space of letting things be and letting my breath arrive.
January 18, 2013 – In the tropical paradise of sunshine and light as I continue to hear the birds chirping away and feel the sunsine on my arm, I am oh so thankful for being able to have these days of renewal. The cock continues to crow in the distance. All the voices of nature. I wonder what my own voice is in this new environment; everything except the family we are with is new. I allow the breath of life to slow my thoughts and listen to my own voice. The cow moos and I pause to listen for more signs that the nieghbor’s cows are nearing. There is an ultra quiet rhythm to nature in this paradise. Things are less imposing and there is a delight in small pleasures. Each time I pause to contemplate a small pleasure, breath enters and again I am reminded that with each breath comes life and my own voice.
Contemplating the 10 days of Vacation Paradise now that we have returned to our normal pace, I realize that the work of vacations is the releasing into the play. It is realizing afresh how important stopping all the normal rushing about and entering into a new environment and space is to renewal. Not only is the entering into a new space important, but the complete stopping of the momentum of life as we know it day to day invites us to experience something new and to allow inspiration to enter our beings. It is a sort of starting over, a chance to rewind the tape and begin anew. As I listen to the sounds of the city around me, I now can also hear the cocks crowing in a far off land called Paradise-in-January. The breath enters as I pause to remember how it felt to just sit and listen to nature and the chirping of birds in the distance. It is in these pauses, whether while on an Island Paradise or in our own homes or at work, that we find and hear our own authentic voice. In the quiet of nature and vacation we can experience the balance of work and play. As we reenter our everyday lives we can bring some of that balance into our days. It becomes clear that to thrive we all must stop and take the time to listen to our voices and rhythm of nature.