I just went to the doctor and she told me I need to chill. I need to relax and stress down. Honestly, I’m not that stressed. I’m a bit overworked and handling three to four crises each day. But I don’t necessarily feel stressed. Seems my doctor thinks otherwise and she looked me in the eye and then hugged me. Perhaps I need to slow down. But what’s the point in that? It’s boring!
Speaking of boring. There was a recent travel survey which found a majority of people like to do nothing on their vacations. They just want to go somewhere and chill out. I’m going to be honest with you. Doing nothing on a vacation trip is not for me. I would be so bored and would spend my whole time wondering about wandering.
Several years back we went to Curacao to celebrate my son’s birthday. It’s an island. We were at a resort (not a high end one but a resort nonetheless). They made me special blue Curacao drinks. A hurricane, at the tail end of our trip, hit the southern United States. Thus, we were stranded for a few extra days. Even then, I had to wander about the island. We went in search of a lighthouse. We went to an ostrich farm. We went to a curacao museum that gave out free drinks. Every day we roamed and it was a small island. The evenings were for relaxing by the pool. My son loved the Infiniti pool. But even then I would go work out on the treadmill.
I just don’t know how to sit still. I don’t know how to just do nothing. My mind and body do not work that way. When I go on vacation, I need to know it will be an active trip. I won’t pay that much money to just sit around. I need to see. I need to try new foods, as long as it is not shellfish. I need to walk and walk for hours on end. I need to return to the hotel, at the end of the day, completely exhausted.
I know. For many my vacation days are far from ideal. But that is what I need to do and be. Can’t be still. Ever.
Categories: Culture, Fitness, food, Health, identity, mental health, photography, Psychology, Travel
psychologistmimi 
I was very much like you. Work was everything. I’m now retired and have time to think. I think about how hard I used to work and wonder whether it was worth it. I also remember the constant worry about this, that and the other – and was all that worry worth it? Now that I am older I realise that life can just slip away and you can miss it! Of course, taking life easy doesn’t exactly help to pay the mortgage and grocery bills but I wonder, now, if a career back-step might have been a good idea. Release a bit of time. The partial answer for me was that I learned to fly small aircraft. I enjoyed the process and it was a totally absorbing pastime and it certainly took my mind of work related issues. At the time I didn’t step back and look at my life, I just happened on something that took me away from the day to day ‘plodding along’ at work. Something that demanded concentration of another kind. You only get one life and my view now is that you should make it as colourful and interesting as you possibly can. There is no easy answer because health, wealth and wellbeing all comes into the equation but, sometimes, it can be useful to pull up the drawbridge, collect your thoughts and catch your breath. Oh, I also found you also, in life, need to have a very definite sense of humour! Hope this helps.
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I understand! I can rest in my own bed 🙂
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Hear hear! Cheers
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I feel the same. I mean, you have to do something!
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Absolutely! 🙂
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… Vacationing for me is about exploring the unknown space, food and hidden gems. I agree wih your perspective.
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