Off for the Sunny Southeast

Tomorrow begins the family trek to our first vacation in years. Definitely looking forward to it. Thought I would share these thoughts from Justin McRoberts' blog before I head out.

I’m embracing the need for “vacation” to be an exercise in making my life to look exactly the way I want it when I’m not on vacation. That, rather than “letting myself go” or deviating from myself to such a degree that I need time to recover from my vacation, I am purposefully shaping my days to be more conducive to mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health; up a bit earlier, time to exercise, honest/serious conversation, great books, good food…

The thing I am finding holds all this together is stillness. It’s the one thing that I have implemented that I have had to seriously discipline myself for. But it’s been the discipline of silence/stillness that given meaning and life to the rest, the same way Sabbath gives meaning and shape to all other days of the week.

Of course it is far easier to find stillness and silence while on vacation, but as I alluded to earlier, I hope the shape my days are taking now gives me such a taste in my mouth for living well that I’d fight for such things once I’m “back at it.”

I'm not sure how well I'll succeed at this. But I definitely appreciate the perspective of vacation being an exercise in intentional rest and healthy rhythms that ought to be part of life normally. Also, it's just going to be fun to be with the family and lovely to rest.