Home or away, a holiday should be the time of your life
Where to spend your precious summer holiday is one of the big decisions of the year.
Can the budget stretch to a couple of weeks on a foreign beach or is a ‘staycation’ nearer home more affordable?
Holidays help us get our lives into perspective.
Are we working too hard, not making enough time for the family? It’s so easy in the hustle and bustle of life to forget what really matters.
Those extra hours you put in at work. The commitments you’ve taken on to help out at the school/playgroup/ church/golf club – they eat up your time and sap your energy.
So we look forward to our holiday as a time to let all the everyday cares and pressures fade into the background.
We need to rediscover the things which give us pleasure, whether it’s a walk on a beach, watching the sunset over the sea, strolling around market stalls or just chatting over a long, lazy lunch. Bliss.
Holidays are also a precious time to reconnect with family.
Where you go doesn’t really matter, as long as you relax.
What’s really going on with the people you share your life with? Is your partner anxious about anything? Have you had the opportunity for a really meaningful chat about the direction your life is taking?
How are your kids coping with school/friendships/ decisions about their future?
A holiday is the perfect time to face up to some of the discussions there never otherwise seems time for.
It’s a time to appreciate the little things. Just waking in the morning and knowing you have all those hours ahead in which to make your own choices is exciting.
A picnic in the park/a stroll by the river/building sandcastles with your children or grandchildren – now that’s happiness.
Last week I was meeting a friend at Glasgow bus station, the first time she’d travelled that way as she usually drives.
She hadn’t bothered to read her book on the journey because simply watching the scenery unfold outside the window was so interesting.
A holiday can be a simple change. Looking, listening and exploring the world around us in a new way.
The bus station was bustling with people off on day trips with their flasks, sandwiches and raincoats, just in case.
Airports, train stations and ferry terminals are places where adventures begin. The excitement is palpable as we set off on the precious holiday we’ve looked forward to all year.
The destination isn’t the most important thing. The anticipation is what matters. The luxury of time to be yourself and to please yourself. To look outwards and appreciate the precious planet we inhabit.
A holiday begins in the heart and mind. So whether you’re at home or away – make the most of every minute.