238 thoughts on “Yearly Holidays – no longer Taking a Break from Life, but Enjoying Me!”

1. This could explain why we have so much trouble coming back from holidays.The fact that we take ourselves so far out from how we normally are that coming back is almost a shock to the system. It’s not that we always need to drive ourselves and have the pressures put on us but it’s about finding a way to ‘work’ that supports us all round. I don’t mean a have a week off every month or anything like that either it’s about setting up our day to support ourselves in each part of it. That way when you are truly supporting yourself there is no need to leave it behind or not do it for a while or have a break from it because it’s how you live, the quality you live and not what you do.

2. Our body does give us the answers if we take the time to truly connect and listen, ‘‘Connect to your rhythm and let the day unfold.’

3. ‘Connect to your rhythm and let the day unfold.’ Whether on holiday or not on holiday this is beautiful, year ’round, day-in, day-out advice.

4. Great to hear that you returned to living your daily rhythm and felt the absoluteness it brings to your body, as opposed to the holiday rhythm which felt dishonouring and draining, and that by returning to your rhythm you felt so much more vital, ‘These simple adjustments during the day made me feel so much lighter as I was returning to my natural rhythm and playful self.’

5. My holidays used to be about escape. I would be miserable about coming back home and would always suffer from the holiday blues for weeks after my return. They are so different now and keeping my rhythm whilst away feels great. I still get up early when away and will sometimes bring work to do during that time because it actually feels very supportive and is part of my regular routine. I now look forward to returning home because I have created a life I love.

6. We tend to make holidays about relaxing and rather than resting we fill it up with other distractions that serve no purpose other than to allow us a different way of filling up our time or sleeping because we are too exhausted to even enjoy the break. When we have a natural rhythm that allows us to be connected within, the worst thing we can do is change our rhythm and start sleeping in, at the same time convincing ourselves we are enjoying the late nights too, all we need to do is listen to what our body is telling us, and not take a holiday from our inner connection.

7. How often do we hear ‘I need a holiday to recover from my holiday’. We have sold to ourselves the idea that a holiday is an excuse for more indulgence, more excitement, stimulation lots of other things yet sometimes we are relieved to get back to work because we know that what we did in the holiday was actually bringing us down. Time to reimprint ‘holidays’ definitely as every day is an opportunity for connection, purpose and greater service.

8. Awesome – a beautiful realisation. How lovely it is to realise the simple joy there is in just being ourselves, wherever we are, whatever we do. Taking this into our working day is a great thing, so there is no difference in who we are at work, on holiday, at play, with family or anywhere in fact. I used to hate going on holiday and now I know why. It was because I felt I had to try an be someone I was not and this felt awful.

9. Re-connecting to who we truly are and living that everyday dispels the myth that we need a break or a holiday to rejuvenate for the next round of life. Rather than having our ‘purpose’ split into parts depending on what we are doing or the plans we are making – our purpose is ‘one true purpose’ and that is to live the love we are, holding ourselves in love first and then bringing this into our environment and with others.

10. A very supportive sharing and learning about being with oneself and the difference this makes i love it “I realised that when I am living the way I feel to live, it doesn’t matter where I am and what I’m doing – it’s about how I’m living in that moment.” How real this is and the appreciation and support that comes from our being fully present and not from escaping all that supports us and what that really means. What an amazing change from the escaping and holidays and life can be.

11. I am sure that many would feel as you did on holidays away from home, but would not be as aware of what was going on. That you listened to yourself and understood that you didn’t need to escape from yourself but rather connect back to your own rhythms. There is a lot for us to learn from your sharing.

12. It is interesting that all too often we going on a holiday to get away from our usual life with the irony being the consistent rhythm of our usual life is actually our strength.

13. ‘Connect to your rhythm and let your day unfold’ when we live this way, there’s no prescription, whether it be a holiday or a weekend it’s all about bringing us into it and finding the rhythm which works for us, not the one based on a picture of what we think we should do. I love how you set up your holiday to work for you and it become about you going about your day in a new place and not the idea of holiday dictating how it should be – this is a great illusion to break.

14. There is an image about vacations that is very powerful: you are to break totally with what you do during the year. If you do otherwise, you are not on holidays. Of course, if your rhythm throughout the year hurts the body, you will need a time to stop doing what hurts you. Yet, if your rhythm goes well with your body, all you need to do is to keep it. No need to kill it in the name of ‘holiday is my precious time’. All the time should be seen as equally precious.

15. ‘My holiday rhythm is actually the same as my day to day rhythm because there is nothing to take a break from or to get away from except me.’ This has got to be the key! It’s interesting how we don’t really ever truly enjoy holidays, because we throw away our rhythm and daily routine, rather than adapting it to a new environment and not taking one big check out from life. After all – when you know how lovely you are – why would you choose to check out from that?

16. I haven’t had a ‘holiday’ for a long time now, but I can feel how I am needing ‘out’ moments in my daily life quite often, and how I am choosing to check out rather than taking moments to stop and gather myself. A huge difference. Thank you for the inspiration.

17. Were ever we go there we are, there is no escaping ourselves and the turmoil we might think we are escaping whether that be a situation or a person none of it truly is out there to escape by moving geographically because no matter what the situation the root cause is buried with our hurts the hurts we take with us wherever we go until we take responsibility and choose to let them go and having done that the drive to escape dissipates.

18. Thank you Anonymous. You show the importance of taking you and your rhythm with you wherever you go as to go anywhere without ‘you’ leaves you incomplete.

19. Well summed up Doug!

20. Great insights/exposure into the intentions behind our holiday plans – which is normally to take a break from life and then we get caught up in the rhythm and activities of the ‘ yearly holiday’ instead of following our own established daily rhythm and honoring what feels right for ourselves…… Essentially a great reminder that no matter where we find ourselves, staying in our own rhythm is what supports us the most.

21. This is a great read for me at the moment as I was thinking yesterday that I need a break – but a break from what?? I am now looking at my daily rhythm and I know i need to make some adjustments as it is not supporting me as well as it could right now. Such a timely reminder!

22. I agree Anonymous with all you share, I too used to yearn for a yearly holiday to escape and take break from my life. But everything I was unhappy about followed me on my holiday so it just intensified the emptiness I felt. Learning to live in a true way and have a daily rhythm that supports me and nourishes me has been better than any holiday I had in the past – thanks to the Universal Medicine presentations that allow us to truly heal.

23. Thank you Anonymous, what you explained is very true. A holiday can be a break from the momentum and structure of our lives. Whether it is supportive or not.

24. When we choose to live in a daily rhythm that supports us why would we change it just because we happen to be ‘on holiday’? It is a long time since I have taken an annual holiday but even when I am away for the weekend I find it supportive to stick to my natural rhythm as much as possible whilst also enjoying connecting with different people and places. For me what changed was when I chose to live each moment being as present as possible so that I had far less need to escape anywhere (for me this would usually be into my mind rather than a physical location) as I explored my relationship with myself and my daily life.

25. You raise a fascinating issue in this blog – just how easy it is to decide to put aside a daily rhythm that normally supports us in maintaining our vitality when we’re on a holiday from our regular routine. I guess we can never truly get a break from ourselves but then why would we want to when we’re living in a way that’s about making choices that maximise our energy levels and minimise disregard for what the body truly needs?

26. When we feel complete there is an equality, a consistency and a fullness to all that we say, do and feel. Nothing is more important than anything else so there is no need to crave a variety of highs or anything different or special to lift and motivate us.

27. Do we use our holidays to get away from ourselves and escape from the responsibilities of our lives or, to continue to build and strengthen our connection and understanding of ourselves and others? Great questions, great blog.

28. I feel like the next holiday I go on will be like no other I have had before. Because this time I will bring all of me.

29. ‘I realised from my experience on my recent holiday that I was living the rhythm of the ‘yearly holiday’ and not the rhythm that supported me.’ I find this interesting because I feel that we do this in other areas of our lives also. How often do we feel driven with the planned event rather than honour our own rhythm?

30. What I find interesting about the process of having a holiday is that for many it is an excuse to give up on truly supporting ourselves in life and committing in full to our day. We can sleep in, over eat, not exercise and do anything we like because ‘we are on holiday’. But what this feels like is a complete giving up on ourselves and this is something I have come to understand is not a true holiday at all.

31. It is a bit weird that I have used holidays in the past to get away from my normal life which shows me that there was something about my normal life that was not supporting and loving and that I was not being truly me. I now go on holiday with me and my daily rhythms and actually find that I do not need to go on holiday to recuperate from life as i used to!

32. Great comment Vicky – its an opportunity to connect even deeper.

33. Its taken me ages to figure out holidays… veering from pure escapism from which I always struggle to return (because I was not enjoying my life), to mad cap adventures which would leave me feeling just as exhausted! More recently I’ve been getting better at resting. I love my life and want to be refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready when I return. The holiday provides a welcome break, a bit more space and time to connect and reflect but like you I notice how they are getting shorter as my need to escape is not there any more.

34. Lovely sharing Anonymous, showing how living our rhythm supports us everywhere and in every time.

35. Hi Anonymous, your blog dispels many beliefs around the ‘Annual’ holiday or “holidays’ in general. When tiredness or exhaustion is felt the first thought is to take a break from work, to get some ‘me’ time. This often involves a completely different rhythm to our regular one and includes all the rings you have mentioned. Recently I have been feeling that the old way of seeing and taking holidays no longer fits for me and you have articulated beautifully how we sabotage ourselves by living the beliefs of generations gone before us. Time to re-imprint the true meaning of ‘Annual’ holidays by bringing the love of who we are, free from the distractions that consume us at other times.

36. I can relate to the sluggishness and never feeling vital when I was on holiday with my family. We stopped going on holidays for a couple of years because it didn’t feel needed anymore. Just as you say ‘I realised that when I am living the way I feel to live, it doesn’t matter where I am and what I’m doing – it’s about how I’m living in that moment.’ Last year we went for a holiday but made this holiday about deepening the connection in our family. We stayed in our rhythm, worked on our projects and loved the extra time we had to connect with each other and the place we were and we enjoyed ourselves more than I can recall from any other holiday.

37. Hey Anonymous, I have to say your holiday description in the ‘before-all-of-you days’ sounded like a nightmare to me. Even on holidays I just can’t overeat, sleep in, stay up late, get driven around, indulge, etc, but I know that this is the ‘normal’. I haven’t actually ‘gone on holidays’ for eleven years! But if I ever do again, I will certainly embrace what you have shared about maintaining my natural rhythm, and including ‘working’ on projects I’ve committed to, because there is so much joy in them when in rhythm that they don’t feel like ‘work’ at all. Keep on en-joying (‘to put joy into’) your holidays!

38. So many great points here how the popular choices (like the holiday diet) we make while holidays explain that saying – needing a holiday after the holiday. Although I have to say I always thought that saying was for the over enthusiastic tourist that rushes from sight to sight or city to city, or trekking at high altitudes in harsh weather so it was great how this blog challenged a few more of my holiday fantasies. So while my holiday fantasies are getting a shake-up it is also a good time to take a peep at how the same ‘break’ attitude can be there in my everyday life – like the relief of watching a movie or hanging out with family and friends but checking out.

39. Such a great blog Anonymous, what you share here about holidays is so true and would challenge the beliefs and ideals most people have around what a holiday is for them. I work in the travel industry and what I find most interesting is how many people travel to escape, and then they discover you can never really escape and everything you are and have lived to that point is with you always. Your version of a holiday is a refreshing way to travel, not to escape but to truly connect and enjoy being ‘you’.

    1. The holiday game is to distract and escape from work and life, it also is a huge business. Since I am claiming my life in full I don’t have any desire to go on a vacation, maybe I will go for a holiday again, but not to escape from anything. I go to work with joy and love the connection with people.

40. A great sharing, no matter what we do, what is going on, it is remembering to bring,
    ‘the full me to every day and moment of my trip… and therefore to fully enjoy being me…’.

41. I love travelling abroad, but these days I prefer to do so if I have a purpose – like seeing relatives or research or for other work related reasons. Then take a day off to see the sights or just to rest and rejuvenate feels wholesome and not an escape.

42. Beautiful Anonymous – you help us see with greater honesty that how we are is within ourselves is always with us, wherever we go. Although we can attempt to escape, how much greater it is to accept and develop a loving quality in our every day that we bring to any destination or country. It seems the only thing we truly need a holiday from is living in a way that is not loving.

    1. Beautifully said Joseph.

43. I can relate to what has been shared here Anonymous and I definitely used to ‘need’ holidays to escape everyday life. Except after I would go home and drive myself in the same way to then need another holiday! Now though, I hardly take them and the ‘need’ has gone. If we do go away for a few nights it is simply to enjoy another place and the people in that place as well as using the time to to reflect and do a stocktake on life.

44. Hear Hear Jenny – it sure does mean that! I find that keeping up my normal rhythm really helps and then when I come back I feel more refreshed, whereas when I let everything go I actually come back feeling exhausted.

45. It is fascinating Anonymous how we can almost live a whole year, 6 months, etc.. waiting for our annual trip away. A time where we can escape the daily reality of life. But this is absurd as that means for the other 48-50 weeks of the year you are living in a miserable state not wanting to be there! Holidays are interesting for me as they always used to be an escape a time where I can just let everything go, but now the more I am enjoying myself the less stuff I take on and so I do not allow things to build up as I used to, this means my holidays now are more about taking time to confirm where I am at, deepen relationships and meet new people.

46. Yes, whatever the place or situation its about how i’m living in the moment, so true, ‘by bringing the full me to every day and moment of my trip… and therefore to fully enjoy being me…’, how gorgeous for everyone.

47. It is very interesting to observe how we can quite easily lose our rhythm when on holidays, or any time away/off from our usual. The way you now spend your holiday by honouring your own rhythm – might raise a few eyebrows I am sure, but it could be very inspiring for your friends and family to see there is another way. Who knows – they might not have liked the default holiday ideals in the first place, but just didn’t know how else to do it.

48. Thanks for this great blog, I could really feel the joy in how you described honouring your rhythm on holiday, and how the work that you did was actually supporting you. It’s interesting how we can have this ideal that to relax or have fun we have to not do any work!

49. I just wonder what would happen if the Sun went on holiday? What about the stars, or even the Earth? What if they suddenly decided that they needed a break from their usual way of being in the Universe and declared they were off on 2 weeks annual leave to an undisclosed location? “I’m not shining today; I’m on holiday,” said the Sun.
    That kind of puts the whole idea of escaping from oneself, or from one’s rhythm, into perspective for me 🙂

50. “‘Connect to your rhythm and let the day unfold.’ What a beautiful, completely natural way to live. I love how you expose how we do things and act in ways that are contrary to our rhythm simply for the sake of adhering to a set of beliefs about what holiday behaviour should be like. Why would we take a break from ourselves? Why would we get away from what we enjoy doing on a daily basis? I love the image of you sitting in the bathtub to maintain your connection with your projects: that’s dedication, Anonymous!

51. This was great to read as I have felt as you have Anonymous on holiday, sluggish, tired, over eating and completely out of rhythm with how I live. On a trip with my family we all felt weighed down once we arrived at our destination, It was like we were being pushed to become the holiday tourist and conform to what everyone normally does on a holiday and that is to check out, indulge and distract oneself from life. Once we recognised this and stayed with our rhythm and set up our days to support us we no longer felt heavy, tired and sluggish.

52. A great piece of observation on the traps we fall into when we go out of our daily rhythm for a period, particularly on a package holiday where you’re bound by an itinerary as well as hostage to those holiday ideals and beliefs that exist around food, rest and leisure. In such times it requires me to be fully dedicated and committed to what I know supports me in my wellbeing, regardless of raised eyebrows or looks of disappointment. I have too much experience to the downside to know that I’m not being at all selfish by sticking to what works for me, but that I’m actually being super responsible by ensuring I bring all of me to all I do and am with others as well as myself – both on the holiday and in readiness for when I return home.

53. Living the rhythm of the yearly holiday – rather than your own rhythm – a great revelation. I have noticed that when I am with my family it can be all too easy to adjust my rhythm to theirs – (putting their needs first) something to be more aware of now I have re-read your blog. Thankyou.

54. Thank you Anonymous, you raised some great points here about taking a holiday. It feels very similar to when we don’t live our own rhythm day to day, whether we are on holiday or not, when we loose our rhythm we tend to loose ourselves in the process, feeling tired and filling ourselves up with unnecessary food to keep our awareness at bay. It is important to keep our own rhythm and awareness at all times regardless of whether we are home or away.

55. It’s lovely Anonymous, to read how you were able to enjoy your holiday by committing back to your rhythm.
    The weekend and holiday is not needed when we enjoy life and bring purpose to our work, rather than making it an obligation. Any areas that seem like ‘have-tos’ are often because of we delay addressing them due to lack of commitment to life. The more I commit to life the more I enjoy contributing through interactions with people, whether it be at work or on holiday.

56. Dear Anonymous, a beautiful and inspiring blog; I feel we can need holidays to run away from our lives. Instead of looking at what needs changing, we escape and go straight back into it after the holidays. Even on weekends I actually love having an early night, waking up early and having all that day to do what I want and need to do, rather than sleeping it away.

    1. Yes Esther I feel the same. Having the time to work through projects, jobs around the house that you feel to do and spending time with friends and families feels like a holiday as I stay with myself and bring me to the day.

57. I love this blog, because it reveals for what holiday stands for the most of people- an escape of their actual life. For me personally holiday means, having an amazing rhythm in my day and maybe being at a lovely place or not holding a camera in my hands. But never an escape – even the opposite, it is like making space to actually have time to ponder, to deepen my relationship with myself and my partner to think about what can be done next etc etc. It was not always like that, but I would never exchange how holidays feel now to me , to the old “dead”, “special moments” of a holiday.

    1. Great comment Steffi especially your last line – I would never exchange how holidays feel now to me , to the old “dead”, “special moments” of a holiday.

    2. I love the kind of holiday you describe here, Steffi: I also love to feel an expanded sense of space to connect with myself as week as the sense of having oodles of time to connect with people and just be with them, rather than having a job to do with them. It’s like being able to focus on the detail of both myself and others.

58. Thanks Anonymous for sharing your experience concerning holidays. I can relate to it a lot. It started last year, when the summer holidays came up and I felt a shift in me relating to the ‘concept’ called ‘holidays’. I truly asked myself: what is it about? Do I need it? I even had a mini-crisis expressing this to my boyfriend a week before we were supposed to leave – that I was not sure if I wanted to go on holidays. No offense, nothing personal, but that I felt that I didn’t need it e.g. as a break from life. I went, but…..with a different mindset, just like you by changing my relationship to holidays. What was different? A lot, which showed even more clearly the weeks I traveled abroad this summer. I just see it not as a holiday anymore, but just me in full in my rhythm moving myself / my body to another country. The scenery is different, I meet new people, another language is spoken, but I don’t change. Ofcourse it is not like home, so it requires some creativity at some points with food, waking up etc. I just saw and still see it as part of the process of small adjustments to deepen my daily rhythm – wherever I am. Because it is in the end what you say: it doesn’t matter where I am or what I do, it is how I am living in that moment.

59. This is a great question, Anonymous:”What was I wanting to get away from and what in my life was I wanting to take a break from?” I used to divide my life in two: work and play. So I’d be on a momentum to get the chores done so I could have time for me, or to get through the week’s work so I could take a break on the weekend, or to look forward to the holidays as a chance to rest from the momentum of my life that I was taking me away from being me. Putting into practice the simple tools presented by Universal Medicine I now find that this division is not so obvious, as more and more I am bringing me to whatever I do so I don’t need the ‘me’ time because I’m having it while I am working.

    1. Yes, we have all rather bought into the idea of split time, haven’t we, Sandra? Time for work and then time for myself and then family time etc etc: when I look at this, it seems a little niggardly, as though I am measuring how much everyone and everything is to be allocated. As you say, what is presented by Universal Medicine is that we bring all of us to all situations and let things unfold from there: this is certainly a more generous way to live than to be allocating how much of me people will be allowed in every situation!

60. A great reminder that we take ourselves with us everywhere so why not our rhythms. It all makes total sense that to take a holiday to a different destination we would want to experience the culture and people of that part of the World, but that doesn’t mean we need to overindulge in food and excesses of anything else, but just enjoy the change of environment and people. Thank you.

61. Very timely reminder thanks Anonymous as my daughter and I are about to go on holiday for a much needed break from work. Fortunately, we are both students of The Way of the Livingness so we are both on the same page which will make it so much easier to remember your words “There was nothing to get away from as I was truly enjoying being me.” Love it!

62. It totally cracked me up how you described a typical holiday as moving from one meal to the next plus pool and site seeing of course as that is my experience too and I have always found it a bit of an odd concept. Its no wonder we come back from holidays needing a holiday! It makes sense as we run ourselves into the ground through over eating and drinking and disregarding whats important to us. I really love this expose’ on holidays, we can get so precious about them and end up losing any positives that may be gained from them. I haven’t gone away in a couple of years for a holiday and the kids have been asking “when are we going to take a holiday?” but I think I have been avoiding as I didn’t enjoy the way I was holidaying before. My dream holiday is having time off work staying at home to organise the house and do extra work as I find that so satisfying, the kids however seem to have a different view on the situation! Thank you for the great tips, my kids will be thanking you too.

63. I love this blog Anonymous. I remember years ago taking a year off to ‘get away’ to go overseas and can very much relate to the wanting to escape from life. The interesting thing that I recall from that time is how much I missed my life, but how much I missed me. Living in close quarters with 20 other people for 6 months, there was definitely a feeling of ‘fitting in’ with everyone and lots of compromising. What your blog highlights for me is that it’s not necessarily what we do but how we are in what we are doing that’s much more important.

    1. So what is it we are wanting to ‘get away’ from? The thing is when we go on holiday we are still taking our self with us and this means that instead of it being a holy-day we bring all our momentums and habits into our holiday and focus on ‘having a good time’. We are still rushing off to find happiness out there instead of stopping to be with ourselves with whatever we do. So, as you say Jennifer, the important thing is ‘how we are in what we are doing’.

64. I have practiced with an open trial and error approach over some time to develop a rhythm that truly supports me to live my life to its fullest and not just manage it. I travel a lot interstate and overseas, and wherever I go I find what supports me best is to abide by this very same rhythm no matter where I am and who I am with. As long as I keep the quality of my rhythm then I am equipped to face what ever is ahead of me.

    1. I love how your rhythm is held no matter what. The last line introducing the quality of how we live no matter where we are is gold.

65. Totally brilliant Anonymous. I too have experienced this. Especially when I came to Australia from the UK for ‘a break from life’. What does that actually mean? I now know it meant I was not truly living in a way that was connected with myself, and I looked to the picture of a holiday to fill the emptiness. Standing on the beach at the mecca Byron Bay where millions before me have pilgrimaged to ‘find themselves’ led me to feel the loneliest and emptiest I have ever felt in my life. Holidays have always left me feeling like this. Your blog confirms we have to take us with us on holiday – for me I had not found what ‘being with me ‘ was – now when I go on holiday I shall make sure to pack ‘ME’ in my suitcase. Awesome blog – thank you.

    1. I can relate to this; I remember a beach resort in the Philippines where I stayed years ago and feeling so terrible and empty that it is hard to find the right words for it; it was more like a sense of utter desolation. What had I expected to find there? Whatever it was, I certainly didn’t and that was no fault of theirs, just my skewed perception at the time, looking for fulfilment from the outside.

       1. This is how I felt when I arrived from the UK to a tropical island in North Queensland – it was going to be the ‘fix’ to my woes but desolation is an awesome word to also share what I actually felt when I got there. I’d forgot to pack ‘me’ in my suitcase.

66. Our rhythm is our strongest support, so why should we give it up just to be on holiday and not instead make everyday about lovingly caring for ourselves, so that a holiday in form of a consolation is no longer needed?

    1. So true Michael. ‘Our rhythm is our strongest support’ This blog beautifully illustrates this. Supporting us to live with vitality and bring all of us to life and in so doing there is no ‘holiday’ needed.

67. This was a real eye opener of a blog for me Anonymous as it not only applies to holidays but to every single day. And I love, and can relate to, this realisation: “There was nothing to get away from as I was truly enjoying being me.”. I was always planning events, things to do, but now I realise that at that stage in my life I was not content to be with me, probably because I really didn’t know who “me” was. As I am learning to understand who I am and how important it is to honour the rhythm that supports me in a loving way, I simply love being with me no matter what I am doing.

    1. Agreed Ingrid, this should be in all of the aeroplane inflight magazines for people to read as they fly off to their holiday.

68. Thank you Jill and Anonymous, this is so true – the dangers of falling into someone else’s rhythm at the cost of our own rather than living in what is true for us and by virtue of doing so, harmonising with another. Adopting the rhythm of another is like trying to
    breathe their breath instead of our own, it feels foreign to the body and is a particularly tricky stunt to pull off – one that leaves us more than a little short of air.

69. It would seem what we want reprieve from is the vice like grip that we are held in when we choose a fixed routine we are slave to over a natural rhythm that holds and supports us. In this state, EVERYTHING is a chore because it goes against every impulse that tells us otherwise, hence the exhaustion. It takes more effort to resist our natural way than to live it. Something I am only just catching onto now

70. The whole concept of having a holiday to get away from things/having a break is one of society’s biggest ideals. I love the way you have knocked this ideal on it’s head and shown what is really going on beneath the surface. We all know the saying “I need a holiday to get over my holiday”. This just proves holidays are not the solution, rather we can simply bring our awareness of how we are living with ourselves on a day-to-day basis and build a relationship with ourselves, this way we don’t need a break from ourselves, a holiday.

    1. Tonisteenson I had to laugh at your comment “I need a holiday to get over my holiday”. I have used that line often myself and have heard it from many colleagues over the years as well. It’s actually amazing to live in a way that I don’t need a holiday, it doesn’t mean that I don’t take them, but the whole purpose is very different. I even love going back to work when my leave has ended. Now that is something!

    2. Yes Toni, holidays are not the solution; if we push all year, so we then get the need to run away, it doesn’t bring what we want, which is more of ourselves.

    3. Totally agree Toni.

71. When we bring all of us to all that we do, there are no defined boundaries of ‘work’ and ‘play’ – just one seamless way of being that encompasses all and is never boring or tiring as it is our natural way of being so therefore not an effort. It is the compartmentalisation of our lives that leaves us feeling fragmented, exhausted and thirsty for a holiday because it goes against the flow of how we are in truth designed to live – being all that we are in all that we do.

    1. I so agree with what you share Liane. I love what I do and bring all of myself into each day and within each day I take care of myself so I do not get exhausted and ‘need’ a holiday. I do not see what I do as ‘work’, I simply see it as something that I love doing and it is a part of my everyday life.

       1. Mary-Louise and Liane what you have both shared is so important as nothing in our lives is separate. We live in one body and have one life, not sections of life. I can see how when I have had different expectations of myself to be a certain way at work and then another way at home, how exhausting that is. I can see how there is an element of that still there. It’s interesting too how the word ‘work’ is deemed to be something that is very heavy and a real drudge and ‘play’ is something that is our escape. I love being playful at work and can feel how it is just so natural to be that way and how being that way is me being me.

       2. So true marylouisemyers and Liane, I love what you share here, bringing all of us to all that we do… and how much fun we can have with that.

    2. I love your little summaries Liane, they are like little quotes I want to stick on my fridge, truly you are heaven sent in your expression. Such a delight when I scan down the page and have the pleasure of reading your comments as it simply adds that little cherry on top to the already amazing articles. Thanks for being you, love what you share with us all.

    3. Beautifully put, Liane. That division between work and play creates in us a list of acceptable and unacceptable activities that can be done at certain times and certain locations, but it does not allow us to be able to connect with what our body is feeling to do and when it is feeling to do it. Instead, we have an artificially imposed regime of: “Now do work”, “now relax like this”, “now play like this”, “now eat this”, “now drink this”, all of which has specific nuances depending on whether you are at work, at home, on holiday, etc. etc. etc. Thus, we are set up to be out of rhythm with ourselves and only exhaustion can come of that!

    4. Woa. I love this, Liane – “It is the compartmentalisation of our lives that leaves us feeling fragmented” – this is so true. This can be applied to any matrix of our life – be it our activity, location, relationship, time frame… This really is about how we choose to perceive and experience our lives – in sections, or as One.

72. When you reconnect to your own rhythm you start feeling playful and vital again and then you can enjoy your holiday much more, and what I love in your blog is that by making sure you are not escaping from life but following your body and your needs, you can still enjoy fully being there with your family and the activities, you don´t have to retire or be away or give up those wonderful days and opportunities to share with them.

73. I completely agree – I haven’t been on a proper holiday for some time, however the occasions I take a day or two down at the coast, or even have a day off work, it is interesting to feel a apart of me that feels the need to take a ‘break’ because I am tired or need to catch up on house work etc. The idea that if I can just make it to my next day off everything will be okay. But what it really highlights is simply that I am not looking after myself enough on a day to day basis, or living a rhythm that allows me to get all I need to do done.

    1. I agree – and often, it doesn’t matter what we do, or don’t do, on the weekend, or where we go or don’t go on our holiday, it doesn’t fully satisfy the feeling and so we wait for the next break and the next break, never stopping to consider what it is that is driving us to want a break from life?

74. Finding our own rhythms within others choices can be a tricky one sometimes, and how lovely is it though when you can just stop and feel into how you are travelling and make choices that support you. Recognising that any one thing that is happening isn’t asking us to change or go into any kind of emotion or reaction, all that is required is our full loving presence.

75. Thank you Anonymous for this great realization about the affects of using holidays or anything else for that matter to escape life. What has often struck me is how frequently people actually get ill while on holidays. It is like we push ourselves so hard to be able to go and escape from our normal routine and then the exhaustion catches up. In the end it comes back to how we are living on a daily basis that makes us want to “escape” from it.

    1. So true Elizabeth Dolan and everyone is aware of this. I have heard many people say ” I hope I don’t get ill when I am away”, without connecting the dots of how we push ourselves before our leave. I know I did exactly that.

    2. That’s such an interesting point; It’s like the macrocosm of the microcosm; when we push ourselves for a day, we end up exhausted that night. When we push ourselves all year, and then have a holiday – the body needs to clear the months of drivenness. This proves to me the body’s innate intelligence: the body knows when we ‘take a break’ and it can give us a virus to make us stop even more than we had intended to.

76. I do holidays this way too Anonymous and find it far more enjoyable. Funny how people think we’re mad workaholics but as you describe it, we’re simply connecting to who we are and continuing to do life in the way that best supports us. The old way, as you have beautifully described it, feels like sheer indulgence to me now and impossible to stomach.

    1. Having said that, I just spent a few nights away on a working holiday with my husband. I enjoyed staying in bed longer than usual just being with my body. This felt like good and timely medicine.

    2. The word that comes to me is that I often use holidays for comfort – to give me a cushion I can rest on which yes it feels wonderful but is then almost painful to get up from. Your second comment nails it – there is a time and place when resting is absolutely the medicine we need. But its knowing when, and how much that is the thing to feel and honour – and that the resting is for learning and preparing for the next step.

77. Thanks for sharing this Anonymous – it clearly highlights how we choose to live. When we feel the need to take a break from everyday life this suggests that everyday life is hard, challenging and not very pleasant. If we are living this way then it really is no wonder why statistics in illness and disease are increasing so rapidly! To use a holiday period to connect more deeply to ourselves and to deepen our relationship with ourselves rather than to check out sounds like the way to go!

78. Well said Caroline ‘….never in need of a holiday but simply in joy of one.’ Changes the whole notion of holidays to be ‘living me days’!

79. Yes Abby, brings a whole new meaning to holidays, with the consistency of our daily rhythm of living us each day as we would in our so called non holidays days!

80. This is great, it is very common for many of us, holidays is about getting away from it all, having a break, travelling and so forth anything that takes us out of our so called ordinary lives….but if we live as you so awesomely described, our full self from moment to moment, our holidays would just be another space where we can enjoy the richness of what it brings, actually what we bring, but it is no more than how we live each day as that is our rhythm and quality of life…a whole new meaning to holidays!

81. “I realised that when I am living the way I feel to live, it doesn’t matter where I am and what I’m doing – it’s about how I’m living in that moment.” This is a fabulous realisation and the blog is an inspiring illustration of how to maintain one’s daily rhythm even when one is out of one’s usual rhythm of life.

82. This blog has been on my mind today, and I keep asking the question – when we go on holiday, what are taking a break from? Because if I am already all that I ever need to be, then why go somewhere else to escape that? Could it be perhaps that we all know and can feel how intense and really out of sync much of life is and so we go to this escape which is all set up for us to indulge in so that we never truly have to feel what is going on, the choices we are making and the consequences of them.

    1. Hi Shami, I agree a lot of people go on holidays to check out, indulge and escape from what is truly going on for them. They do not want to feel the consequences of their choices therefore distract themselves with their annual holiday. I know for many years I did this and thought I was having a great time only to come home and be met by every thing that I tried to escape from.

       1. Exactly Shami and Mary-Louisemyers, in the past I used to do this too, and I never understood why it felt so depressing to come back home after my holidays – a distinct longing for something more. I thought I was longing for more holidays, but truth was I was longing for myself – who I was trying to run away from in the first place.

    2. Great questions you raise Shami and I will take the opportunity to ponder on these during my short ‘get away’ holiday coming up very soon.

83. Interesting what you post here Anonymous as taking holidays is such a normal thing to do in our nowadays society. It is holiday season now where I live and we are asked regularly if we have holidays already or if not, if we are planning one and where we go to. For me it does not feel right anymore to go for a holiday like I have done in the past and, as you say Anonymous, completely changing my rhythm of my everyday life. My rhythm is that important to me, it gives me the support to give the expression to my life, the free expression where purpose full work is one great ingredient off. So when we now plan for a holiday we am planning to make it purposeful and for sure we take our laptops with us so we are able to continue to work on the projects we are involved in.

    1. It is interesting to feel this more consciously after what has been shared. I agree Nico I haven’t had an actual ‘holiday’ for years and when I have felt into this I haven’t had a feeling of missing out. I can still rest when I want to but as you say, life now has much more of a purpose for me. I know some people live their life waiting for their next holiday or weekend there is so much more to who we are than just this.

84. Anonymous I love what you say about bringing your rhythm to your holiday, and to continue working on the projects that support you, as you do not need a holiday from all activities that are part of you in the world. I too have experienced my family visits as a departure from my rhtythm so that I can fit in, but it simply doesn’t work for me, so now I am bringing me in full to them instead. Thank you for sharing your awesome observation.

    1. Love it hartanne60 – what a blessing for your family when you bring yourself in full!

85. So true Anonymous when you say that “spending some time on the projects I am involved in actually wasn’t work at all and I realised from this holiday it actually supported me.” This has been a big one for me. As I struggle with delay and pushing all responsibilities away to have a relaxing holiday. Then I find I spend all holiday with niggling worries about the work I’m not attending to because I want to have a break form it all. If I build work into my rhythm as part of what supports me and embrace it by offering the fullness of who I really am to my work surely this is going to support me. Then when I do put it down to spend time with friends and family I can offer the whole me with them rather than the half worried me with one foot in my space with them and one foot in my head worrying about the things I haven’t yet completed. If I can attend to this detail then I find I can and will be able to, as you say.. ‘Connect to my rhythm and let the day unfold.’

86. Anonymous, what you have shared here is gold. Being an intrepid traveller myself in my younger years, I was always looking for the next holiday or trip as a means of escape. Since attending courses with Universal Medicine over the past 5 years, gradually my need for a holiday has dropped off and the desire to travel overseas too is no longer there. This has been a huge change in my life and the reason is that I am no longer feeling the need to escape me which is what going on holidays was for me. I am sure I will enjoy holidays again at some point in time, but as you have beautifully discovered, taking my everyday rhythm into a holiday rhythm is the key to stay being me regardless of where I am at.

87. Interesting blog with lots to ponder on thankyou Anonymous.

88. Anonymous, I love this, you’ve completely blown out the ideas of what a holiday should be, getting away from our lives, when in fact if as you show we connect to our rhythms, and get on with our day, it doesn’t matter where we are. It’s like when we give into all those holiday ideals we leave us and attach ourselves to a rhythm which is not us and actually tires us – of course we’re not tuning into our bodies and what they need when we do that. So bah humbug to ideals, holiday ones too and listen to and feel the body, and choose to honour what is felt.

89. I really enjoyed reading this de-construction of the ‘ideal’ holiday and it felt so true it was an escape from feeling aspects of life being lived when not on holiday. I loved how eventually, the ‘rhythm’ when on holiday stayed the same as when not, based on what was truly supportive for oneself and not so much what others wanted, yet being able to enjoy being with others. It was great how the holiday experience was re-imprinted and it was not required to give it up. I sense how this also added to the rest of life when not on holiday. This sharing seems to be important about all our life activity that we may use to escape from our lives, and indicates how we can bring all of ourselves to the activity rather than give up and withdraw from life.

90. It is quite funny, I don’t particularly enjoy holidays as they always involve compromise. My life at home is so beautiful and everything is so much just right that I prefer not to travel when I have a choice. Once I am travelling I enjoy the changes and the exploring and the feeling of the different places but this is not something I need or look forward to. Quite interesting.

91. I love the message of this story- it’s so true, we often take holidays to get away from it all, but what are we really getting away from? I love how Anonymous didn’t continue to ignore how she felt, nor did she abandon time with her family, she simply found a way to be herself, and have a routine and rhythm that supported her, and all that involved was her willingness to listen to her body. So simple and yet so freeing!

92. Anonymous I love this. “‘Connect to your rhythm and let the day unfold.” This is true for every moment and every day of life no matter if you are on holidays or at work etc. Connecting to our own rhythm is a beautiful way to connect to the world around us, who needs a holiday from that?

    1. So true and so beautifully said Kelly.

93. i have found this too. If I connect to another’s rhythm and live that I feel totally out of sorts, it’s like I have abandoned myself…given up on myself. I see how I have done this a lot in the past and kind of drifted through life rather than taking the wheel, as it were, and steered my own course.

94. I agree it’s so easy to lose our rhythm on holidays which actually reduces the enjoyment of the time considerably. We are seemingly hard wired to think that over eating and over sleeping is somehow fun but the truth is it just feels like crap, good on you for listening to yourself and making your own way.

95. This is a great ideal and beliefs breaking blog about holidays Anonymous. It is true that lots of people use holidays as a check out moment because daily life gets them feeling exhausted. I too believed this was relaxing but in truth it can never be relaxing to sleep in late, stay up late and over-eat, because you have to disconnect from your body to go into a rhythm that does not support you. It is important to look at how we are living in our day to day lives that makes us feel so exhausted. Holidays can be lots of fun and great to spend time together, but we should not forget that this only works if we truly honor ourselves along the way.

96. I really enjoyed reading this Anonymous. I can relate to your experience of feeling sluggish and out of rhythm whilst on holidays. Connecting to my own rhythm and not the holiday rhythm or that of another makes a lot of sense.

97. I was reading another blog on how much someone was able to enjoy having breakfast with themselves… and the link is very strong here. When we are away, do we change? Do we give up all the things that support us? What both blogs present is that being ourselves, no matter what others think or are doing, is far more important and will lead to a holiday that supports the rest and relaxation that the body needs from time to time.

98. I can relate to giving up my rhythm and trying to fit in with another rhythm. I have done that a lot in my life and I actually thought that was the way to be. Once Serge Benhayon took me for a ‘walk’ around the room where I could feel how much I was waiting for someone to give me directions where to go and how to be. It was a true wake up call for me. Since then I have allowed myself more and more to stay in and trust my own rhythm and let it flow with other rhythms.

    1. That is beautifully said Esther and I can relate to what you have expressed here. I feel I have been in the same ‘boat’ waiting for someone else to show me the way, not trusting myself. There is great freedom and contentment that comes with letting that go and trusting that no matter what – you can trust yourself.

    2. Yes, so true what you share here about Vietnam, it initially seems like chaos, but there is a beautiful rhythm to it, and as long as you are in yours it all flows into the other. Beautiful to experience and magical as you say Caroline.

99. I find it interesting how naturally we would not seek to be in a rhythm that offers less than our normal level of vitality and true health and yet it seems so easy to ‘slip into.’ A reminder to always choose Love.

100. It’s great to read this. I’ve experienced very much the same sort of thing going on holiday. Even sleeping-in and over eating alone can turn a great day into one of feeling like a sloth (no where as enjoyable as staying with the usual rhythm I live in). Thanks Anonymous.

101. Great points you raise here Anonymous. I have also developed a life where the joy is in being with me in whatever I do or don’t do and therefore there is nothing for me to take a break from. I work and carry out my day in a rhythm as you have described 7 days a week 365 days a year. I also seem to have developed a ritual of doing my accounts on xmas day every year which is a lovely quiet time. Some people find it weird that I work and live like that, but I love what I do and connecting with people and have always found it exhausting to lie in the hot sun on the beach or do the other things that people seem to enjoy so I don’t!

102. I too experienced this too Marika when I was a contractor, until I realised that I needed to keep my usual rhythm even when not working otherwise I’d feel tired and lethargic and my day would lack purpose.

103. When we go on holidays, we don’t leave anything behind anyway, we take it all with us because what we’ve lived is within us…hence the need to ‘have a good time’, indulge in food and drink, etc in an attempt to forget ‘home’. The minute people return home, they get the ‘holiday blues’…I certainly used to…and then start planning the next holiday!

104. I found myself sitting nodding as I read your fantastic blog Anonymous – nodding because I’ve just returned from an overseas visit to family where from day one, I kept my rhythm. I did all the things I’d do at home to support me during my travel and while there and know that I took all of my everywhere I went – just as I would at home. Consequently, I had lovely connections with people, I felt great, family ‘stuff’ bounced off me a lot of the time and my family just loved me being there. The bonus for me was when I returned home, I had zero jet lag…a bit of tiredness hit me late afternoon for a few days, but nothing that affected how I was or what I was doing. It really confirmed for me how my rhythm is what allows me to do all that I do now.

105. This is awesome Anonymous! I really enjoyed reading your blog, and with a holiday coming up at the end of August this year, I will definitely consider what you have presented here about feeling what to do/how & when to wake up/go to sleep in my normal rhythm, instead of the ‘holiday rhythm’, which always seems detrimental to my normal rhythm when I return home from a family holiday. A really interesting point that I picked out was when you said “it was much easier to plod along with everyone and fit into their holiday rhythm rather than feel how great my rhythm was for me”, I totally agree, but at the same time, it seems absolutely crazy that it would be easier to not do the latter!

106. I really enjoyed the image of you tucked up in the bathtub, typing away Anonymous! I have found that it is even more important to remain with my own rhythm when I am away from my usual working day otherwise things can go a bit haywire and lacking in purpose and I can lose the quality of my natural way of being.

107. This blog I found confirming and very supportive reminding me of the importance of my daily rhythm and not to jeopardise it in any way, wherever I am. Thank you Anonymous for sharing.

108. I agree Alexis Stewart and Marika. When I have gone on holidays in the past with my family I have found them to be challenging because of my need to please them and the wanting to ‘fit in’ to the detriment of myself as I would get tired and sluggish.

109. Hilarious, Anonymous, working on projects in the bathtub of the hotel’s bathroom, hahaha! And I can feel the joy you had there. It is a very brave thing to do, because everything in hotels and around the ‘holiday consciousness’ asks us to check out and indulge. So you brought the true version of holidays to this place!

110. A great look at why people take holidays Anonymous. Once I took holidays to escape my life. I would spend my days working and living saving for the next holiday, looking forward to getting away, never considering that I wanted to escape my life or that I needed too. Today things are very different for me. My ‘holidays’ now include going to Vietnam for one of the amazing Universal Medicine retreats or visiting my family who live overseas. Nothing changes for me when I take these trips other than the location. I live my rhythm fully and live all of me and so I live the same joy in each day that I do when I am home and no longer have a need to get away.

111. I can remember once when wanting to get away on holidays but very aware of wanting to leave me behind. For me now I know there is no better holiday than enjoying every day lived in the acceptance of myself and that includes having a loving supportive rhythm everyday no matter where or what I am doing.

112. A great article Anonymous that clearly shows the importance of developing a rhythm in life and maintaining it wherever you are. This also shines a light on the throw away comment so often heard ‘I need a holiday to recover from my holiday’ meaning that you need to come back to your natural rhythm to feel who you truly are in order to recover from the exhaustion of being out of rhythm.

113. As for you Anonymous, for me also my rhythm is everything – when I lose my rhythm, I lose myself. I have great appreciation for my rhythm and I do not feel to take a break from it – it supports me tremendously in my vitality, my joy and my purpose in life.

114. What I noticed is how loudly your body spoke to you when you broke with your own rhythm to fit in with others’ and your choice to return to one that supported your body. You sum it up well : ‘My holiday rhythm is actually the same as my day to day rhythm because there is nothing to take a break from or to get away from except me. As I prepare for a family reunion in the US, and will be sharing a house with many, I’m aware of the learning ahead and how this presents a perfect opportunity be with me and confirm my own rhthym in the midst of many. Your post offers a great reflection on the choices open to us while on holiday. Thank you Anonymous

115. At the moment we have a friend staying with us, and although we are not on holiday, I still wondered why I felt the need to change my rhythm to fit in with our visitor. If my rhythm is supportive of myself this quality is then brought to everyone else in the home. It is a great question to ask ourselves Anonymous, why did we feel to change our rhythm, and then wonderful to realise that our rhythm is a commitment to ourselves and that everyone benefits from it.

116. What really stuck with me was to live your natural rhythm and then let your day unfold into whatever it must be. Lovely !

117. Anonymous, there is certainly a lot of ideals and beliefs around holidays and what and how we are meant to be on them. The whole idea of taking a break from our daily life is a strange one now that I really feel into it, as it is a reflection on how we are actually living each day and shows that we must not be living who we truly are if we need to have a break from it! Our daily rhythms are there to support each day no matter what we are doing. Awesome sharing.

118. To be able to enjoy daily life so much that the whole ‘holiday‘ idea becomes redundant is a great ‘hidden’ bonus of conscious presence, to be continually letting go of old patterns and paradigms that kept us out of the present, and that were engaging the central nervous system constantly leaving trails of stress and adrenaline, that seemingly necessitated a ‘break’ from life. It extends to the whole paradigm of retirement as well, working so that you can stop work and do what you want but you are probably too stuffed to enjoy it by then, whereas with a deep and true connection with oneself , we can joyfully choose to work until we drop. I know I will.

119. This clearly exposes the way most choose to have a holiday for an escape from life instead of a true support in life. Holidays in-truth are a time to deepen our relationships with ourselves and with others.

120. Thinking that we can take a break from life is a strange concept indeed when all we do is to displace ourselves geographically for a while; and even if we are not working, we take ourselves and our body with us wherever we go and that includes our habits and general demeanour, and that might include grumpiness, which will all surface sooner or later.

121. Staying true to our own bodily needs and rhythms can’t come at the expense of others’ and their needs. Anonymous thanks for the reminder that going away to escape ourselves makes no sense at all.

122. What a beautiful revelation Anonymous, ‘I have come to know and feel the importance of living truthfully and bringing and ‘being’ the real me into each day… including my yearly holidays’. How often do we consider that we can take a break from ‘being the real me’, even for just a second. In the past this used to happen for me when I felt that I needed to get something done in a hurry. My mind would say ‘just hurry and get that done, then you can go back to being ‘the real you’! What a trick this is to keep us from being who we truly are. As you so wisely say, we ‘don’t need to take a break from life’; it is about how we live in every moment.

123. Love this Andrew

124. ooohh yes, the lure of the holiday from life and the deep, deep hole we can wallow in. Love how you spotted it and brought yourself back

125. Dear Anonymous,
     Thank you deeply, your sharing has inspired me to appreciate my daily rhythm. To examine the steady rhythm that I already have and to feel in full the support that this holds for me. To honour this and to maintain it each day, whether I am holidaying, when I have some one to stay, to maintain my rhythm – not falling into thinking I have to adjust my rhythm to suit others. A very powerful sharing, and greatly appreciated by me.

126. Anonymous, I found reading your blog great confirmation of what I have been feeling for some time. Thank you.

127. Anonymous, it’s so true, holidays should be no different to any other day, but we get so caught up in making our holidays an ” escape from life.” Holidays are just another time for us to bring our own unique rhythms into play and enjoy us being just that. Thank you again Anonymous.

128. Thanks Anonymous for highlighting the benefits and importance of a daily rhythm

129. Brilliant Anonymous. I love how you honestly let yourself feel how you’d let go of what felt right for you, and adjusted – and with such ease! I used to crave a holiday for ‘time out’ and a much needed rest and recovery. These days, with enormous credit to the inspiration of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, I find every day to be full and rich. The way I look after myself and engage with life, means I rarely need ‘recovery time’, or have the craving for ‘time outs’ in the way I once did.
     This may sound strange to many (indeed it would to myself a few years back!), but it is absolutely true. When on holidays now, there is absolutely time to flow with the location, the people and all it offers, yet the things in my day that truly support remain intact. I have to say, this feels and is truly amazing, and I actually embrace and appreciate so much more when I am in a different location as a result.

     1. Beautiful Victoria, I love how you say you can fully embrace and appreciate so much more when you are now on holiday. I look forward to my next holiday, as this is now how each day is for me. The more I fully embrace what each day brings, I enjoy each day so much more.

        1. Yes agreed Leigh. Somehow even the term ‘holiday’ or ‘vacation’ doesn’t even feel right today. If my husband and I are in a different country, for example, we relish in the opportunity to experience the sense of place that comes from the people – to meet the people there, learn, observe, and very much deepen in our relationship with each other also. There isn’t a sense of ‘escape’ or needing relief from the rest of one’s usual routine. If our time does involve rest, it is truly honoured as that being what our bodies well deserve and need – rather than again, from how it used to be which was seeking relief, recovery, and often much indulgence in food, drinks, etc that didn’t actually help the body restore itself at all…

     2. I feel things have changed for me in a similar way Victoria. I used to crave a break, count the days until my holidays and get depressed on my return to a life I felt was not much fun. I no longer feel I need so much recovery time from work because I am living each day differently, (thanks also to the inspiration of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine) by choosing to be more loving towards myself, and maintaining a supportive rhythm while away makes my holiday more enjoyable.

        1. That’s just it Debra. Once when on holiday, I’d need to sleep lots, I’d overeat, at times partake in plenty of alcohol, just want to go shopping… In short, I’d be craving distractions, and seeking to kind of ‘make up’ for how I felt in my usual life the rest of the time.
           Today, my ‘usual life’ is pretty damn awesome. I do welcome a rest at times, and absolutely love being in a different place – but no longer crave or feel I need this.
           The engagement with life remains quite constant, and I also attribute this totally to the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
           To live in such a consistency of joy today, to work hard, to have quality relationships… is indeed a miracle, and one to be celebrated in the continued ‘living’, rather than checking out from life or seeking escape from it.

130. Love this Anonymous, as it exposes what so many of us can do when on holidays. It makes such sense that we would bring ourselves on holidays rather than falling into the “holiday mode” which feels more like escapism. If you are with yourself, then every day feels like a holiday as you bring the joy and vitality of you and who would want to escape from that!

     1. This is so true Jade. Once I realised this on my holiday everything else felt so easy and the joy and vitality came back.

131. Love this Anonymous, a great re-rhythming for your body and a great inspiration for others as you choose to be all of you on the yearly break.

132. I enjoyed your blog and your sharing that it is possible to hold our rhythm wherever we are in life. Thank you.

133. Wow it is a great revelation you had about your rhythm – the distinction of one that actually supports you and one that suits other people at the expense of your self.

134. Awesome awareness and congratulations on choosing you and your rhythm. It needs all of us – one by one – to say yes to us and no to things that are not us – to show that there is another way to be on ‘holidays’ and in life.

135. Anonymous what you have expressed here about taking a break from our everyday life feels true for many people and many situations. Even the life verses work mentality where people stop being themselves at work and can’t wait until the day is over.
     I know that at my work people count the days until ‘they are away from this place’. People often ask if I am busy at work and if so then isn’t it great because it makes the day go fast! Life is life. During work. During home time and during holidays. Staying connected with myself and my own rhythms supports me in enjoying ALL of my life without the illusion of one moment somehow being more important then the other.

136. What a stand-out contrast in taking a holiday. Reading your article I know which one I would choose. To feel that joy and playfulness in every day from being you and how you support yourself with this, at work or holiday, very inspiring. Thank you.

     1. Yes holidays can be a drain. I have experienced getting into a routine that makes me feel sluggish and heavy. The urge to over eat and ‘treat’ yourself with sweet food is also very strong when on holiday. Its so much more supportive to continue with my own rhythm where ever I am. I love going on holiday, but its feels even better when I keep to my own rhythm, which includes waking up time and eating supportive foods when I’m hungry. I took some work on holiday last year and it felt great to include it in my daily rhythm. It was also great to have completed it without any stress or pressure. I am now seeing holidays as part of my life rather than an escape from life.

137. Wow – a completely different way to take a holiday – thank you for sharing – it’s very inspiring.

138. Beautiful sharing thank you for highlighting that our rhythms support us so why would we want to take a break from them? I have recently been changing how I am both in the preparation before holiday and during. I had similar experiences to you of not taking the full me and as a result felt exhausted and lethargic. When I realised I was causing myself to feel this way I knew it was my responsibility to change this by honouring how I was feeling, honouring my routine and being the full me in each moment.

139. Thank you Anonymous for writing this. It is so true that many holiday makers are on their “break from life”.

     1. I’ve been there and done that – and its a sad reflection that I needed to take a break from the life I had chosen. What does that really say about the choices I was making?

140. What you have expressed here Anonymous is a great reminder to be yourself and stay in your rhythm no matter where you are or what you are doing. Also for us to re-imprint the purpose and intention of our holidays. I love what you said about nothing to get away from; “There was nothing to get away from as I was truly enjoying being me”.

     1. On reading your comment I asked myself this question, what IS the purpose and intention of holidays? For most is seems to be an escape and momentary relief from the humdrum of life only to return to it again after the holiday has finished. Something wrong somewhere. Could it be that year in year out we are running away from ourselves in the hope that the next holiday could bring us the happiness we are lacking.

141. Anonymous I am at present on a short holiday, at home, but maintaining the daily rhythm except from going to work. Not checking out of life simply because one is on holiday was not always my way of enjoying a break but Universal Medicine has helped me see life in a different light.

142. How great is it to just enjoy a great time with your family and enjoying another country, whilst keeping in touch with your life, last summer I have been, since a long time, on holiday with my family again, It was great how we all could keep our rhythms and just enjoy each others company and build our relationships.

143. I have spent a lot of time abroad, travelling for long periods of time, seeing many countries and later on, taking long holidays every winter, to ‘escape the cold and dark months’, so yes, holidays and trips were a big part of my life and I was very much identified with being ‘a traveller’. For me my long holidays during the winter were not so much an escape from the snow, but more an escape from life and its responsibilities, and thinking that everything would be ok while being in another country. It’s not that I partied hard or did many sightseeing trips, but being somewhere else was a great excuse to not deal with issues that were playing out in my life. On holiday, I didn’t have to ‘do’ anything and it gave a great excuse for comfort. Another country can be a huge distraction from what is going on at home. Over the past years, I have been breaking with this pattern of long holidays which has been quite a challenge, not only for myself.

144. Thanks Anonymous for your honest sharing. You raise the question why do want a break from life when it is such a joy to be part of life. I am looking forward to my next holy days as every day is divine.

     1. Thank you Paul, indeed every day is divine as it is holy.

145. Thank you, Anonymous, for an inspirational blog. It is interesting to ponder on what you brought here – why are we going on holidays? and the rhythm we are living wherever we go. I recently came to the realization that there is no break from life as well as there is no break from work – as we are always working and if we are looking after ourselves and serving others we are not getting tired. Thanks to Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon for all the amazing presentations of the ways of the livingness.

146. Holidays can be and are sold to us as the ultimate relaxing escape – with catch phrases like “get away from it all”
     Escape from what I ask, “ourselves”? and the “all”? After many times using holidays as escapes only to come home and have everything I didn’t like i.e. my dirty laundry & unloving rhythms hit me in the face. Often feeling like I needed a holiday on my return, I too have benefited form the courses and presentations from Serge Benhayon and Universal medicine in helping me to see & feel the the difference of a more loving rhythm.
     Now I love all days equally as long I bring myself to them first.

147. It seems like the holiday industry encourages this belief that we all need a holiday to recover from our busy and stressful lives at work. But if we take all of ourselves to the work in the way you suggest we take them to a holiday, then we do not need a holiday to ‘recover’! Work and play become two parts of the same whole, and enjoyable if we are sustaining our true rhythm throughout, they are not separate at all.

148. I love what you have shared here. This is something that I too have felt, that as I have developed my connection with myself and as it has deepened, there is no need to ‘have a break’ to get away from it all. Taking a break from ‘me’ actually becomes draining, because it isn’t the true me! So it’s simple, staying true to our rhythm and to who we truly are no matter where we are.

149. I used to do that too, Sue. As soon as I got home from one holiday I would start planning my next one, a crazy way to live, just focussing on one month of the year and existing for the other eleven months.

150. Lovely to read this again! I am currently on holiday for the Christmas break – but whats so interesting about this holiday – is that my rhythm has not stopped. At first I could feel I wanted to hide from all responsibility, hide under my blanket and eat too much, but after seeing that was just me trying to conform to an ideal, I could feel my body was craving the consistency I had been living before the holidays. So whilst there are different things to do and see, and people to meet – we’ve kept our foundation strong.
     It feels amazing to do so! And no jet lag!

151. For so many of us life is a struggle and our holidays are the relief we deserve.

     What if we approach each day as the opportunity it is? The opportunity to turn round this mad belief system that we have to endure life 48 weeks of the year to then get our rewards in the remaining 4. What if we actually allow ourselves to enjoy that which we have chosen to do for work, and at home, every day.

     This for me is always developing but I love the fact that I don’t hanker for weekends or holidays nowadays but view them as an integral part of my rhythmic and ever more purposeful life.

152. Great blog – thank you. I recognise how the way that I take a holiday has changed dramatically over the last few years. In the past, I definitely would have a blow out – over sleep, drink and seek a break from my routine. It does not feel like that when I take a holiday now, my rhythm is more consistent and I do not rebel against it as much as I once did because it is that which supports me and it is something I want to continue when I am away from home. Great exposure of what can really be occurring on holiday!

153. It was so easy to not feel and be honest about the ” not enjoying my life”. I felt like this was it, there was nothing I could do about it. I realise now this was a reflection of my childhood, where I gave up on my life. I have always worked hard at life, but now understand that was to avoid feeling this “giving up”. Universal Medicine has supported me in feeling this feeling for myself and allowing my body to heal it, by just feeling it. Thank you.

154. I too have really noticed whenever I go away and have not packed the things and items that support the rhythms I have set at home my situations tend to go pear-shaped. When attending Universal Medicine workshop weekends I have noticed that any supportive behaviours I take on during that weekend tend to stay behind, or more to the point I have not carried them back into my daily life. Why should I support myself differently depending on where I am? Thank you for highlighting and sharing this ‘holiday mindset’, something that would be supportive for me to ponder on.

155. Recently I had a few meetings on a sunday and someone commented how that wasn’t right, and it does definitely go against the norm, but when you are doing things you really love there is nothing you need to take a break from. Every day is just another 24 hours.

156. Why stop what is already awesome…it’s such an interesting concept isn’t it the “holiday”…the break from life, essentially the elongated distraction where you are allowed to do, well whatever, because you are on holiday. I remember trips with mates not so long ago where I would hear the expression “what happens on holiday stays on holiday” typically referring to some debauchery that was unfolding. Good times, but looking back it is fascinating to see that I would come back more exhausted, broke and miserable than when I left. It was actually like a forced misery trip. Amazing. Gosh I love going away now, taking my loving accessories although packing lighter I may add, and just enjoying my rhythm in the warm…for me like you anonymous holidays are about celebrating what is already awesome and enjoying it under different circumstances.

157. Hmm, very interesting Anonymous, thank you. On reading your blog I realised I simply walk away from all that I know supports me when I travel and especially when I visit family. This really makes no sense at all, as that is when I am in a different environment and amongst others who have quite different ways and my own rhythm could help me most.

158. Great reminder to trust our natural rhythm and to keep on checking to feel if it truly supports us. Thank you Anonymous.

159. This is great Anonymous, I loved reading ‘I felt at home even though I was miles away.’ I can relate to so much of what you have written and also find that changing my rhythm whilst on holiday doesn’t work for me as its my daily rhythm that supports me.

160. Anonymous, you make some excellent points about not needing to get away from being you. I remember going on ‘activity’ holidays which were as regimented, if not more so than work! The main instructor who was in charge of all the water sports described the activities rather wryly as ‘Compulsory fun’. I remember feeling very much as if I wanted to escape from this ‘holiday camp’ mentality and return to my ‘rhythm’ but felt trapped by the idea that I had paid for everything and should therefore get my money’s worth!
     I remember getting home and feeling that I needed another holiday straight away!

161. What you say, Anonymous is true, “Holidays can be a way to ‘take a break from life’ or ‘get away’ or Holidays can be an opportunity to enjoy what the world has to offer by bringing the full me to every day and moment of my trip… and therefore to fully enjoy being me…” if we are enjoying living life then we don’t need to escape or take a break from it. We have accepted the struggle as a normal part of life and to consider that it doesn’t have to be this way to me was unfathomable a few years ago! I needed holidays to escape from life but through all the changes I have made I now bring a more whole me to my holidays and the flavour of them are so different now.

162. Anonymous, great blog – I too have been caught in the getting away from it all holiday mode, and it really is such a trap. We spend the rest of the year driving ourselves and not taking care and then expect to check-out for a week or so to recover and it doesn’t work. As you say, it’s all about connecting and feeling our rhythm on a day by day basis. I now live more in this way and find I need holidays less or when I go on holidays work can be a part of it as it’s part of my rhythm, and I feel a purpose with what I’m doing, so why would I suddenly lose that purpose when I’m somewhere else? It’s funny, often I used to do the same thing with weekends too and again that’s no longer the case and it makes such a difference.

     1. Great point Monica, weekends can also take us out of our rhythm.

        1. Greg you remind me that anytime we go into a reward or a feeling that we need to take time out, be that holidays, weekends and the ultimate one, retiring we can use it as a way to opt out of life. And when we do that, what are we doing, we’re taking time out on us. It’s interesting to note that we’ve never had so many older people and also so many who are ‘gone’ effectively with varying degrees of senility and dementia, the ultimate check-out, the idea of being engaged until your very last breath in whatever form that may be is something that for many of our elderly today is not the case.

163. Top blog Anonymous. Whether we are on holiday or not this is a great reminder to just be ourselves in any situation.

164. Hi Anonymous, you make a great point here about getting away from it all and what exactly are we getting away from. I have always felt out of sorts on holidays, almost displaced and was always glad to get back home. My husband and I are due to take a trip to see family abroad next year, so it will be a good opportunity to see how I feel.

165. “I realised that when I am living the way I feel to live, it doesn’t matter where I am and what I’m doing – it’s about how I’m living in that moment.” This is the important part, for then everyday is an opportunity to feel amazing. It’s like all the slogans you read everywhere about work and life and how they should feel, but instead of just looking at them and reading them as something to aspire to, you are actually living it.

166. I haven’t been on a holiday in about 6 years. Not one with beaches and palm trees and hotels with pools to lounge around. Not because I don’t want to but because of work and other financial commitments. There is a part of me that would love to… for about three days then I would get bored. I have travelled internationally in the last 6 years but always for work and I always enjoyed having a purpose to my trips. I would love a hot tropical holiday right now though just to deeply rest my body. Better get saving!

167. Hi Anonymous, This was great to read as I haven’t had a holiday this year and have been feeling a bit down about that fact and now realise I had that ideal of the ‘break away from life’ for a few days so thanks for sharing and now I can ponder on what I feel about it all and why if felt I needed a break from life!

168. Grgeat blog, I can totally relate to this. I took a holiday during the summer and while it was great to get some sunshine and vitamin D, there was nothing else about it that I really needed. I lacked the purpose and vitality that I gain from being at work. I wasn’t in need of a re-charge because I love working and so wasn’t exhausted and needing to unwind or de-stress.

169. That is the point isn’t it – if you need to take a holiday from your life, you are not living it right. Well said Ryan.

170. Thank you Anonymous for an excellent blog. It makes me realise that in the past I had far away, exotic and expensive holidays and yes I can say I have seen the world and it was very eye opening and not all negative, but what was happening is that I would escape from work and the day-to-day routine.
     Since I connected with Universal Medicine, and been inspired by what Serge Benhayon presents, I have changed completely. I don’t need to go on holiday and do what tourists do. I don’t want to escape and certainly I don’t escape me. My life is full and joyfull and feels complete as my relationship with me deepens with the help of my soul. I connect with people on a deeper level and when I go somewhere I make sure that I connect with people and I walk or drive the place in full presence.​

171. Great blog Anonymous! I remember those expensive holidays we used to take
     during our working lives. Each time there seemed to be a huge effort to
     ‘escape’ even further to find yet more exotic locations and wacky things to do!
     One never asked the question, why? It just seemed the obvious antidote to
     the ‘boring treadmill’ of work. If only I had stopped for a moment to consider my
     rhythm, instead of blindly following the ‘Work hard, play hard’ ethic that was popular
     at the time.

172. I love this Anonymous. I have recently returned from a holiday on which I did the same as you and chose to stay with my normal daily rhythm, as I know it supports me and I enjoy it – so why would I want to escape from it?
     In the past I have had holidays where I have switched off and almost opted out of life as I became the ‘tourist.’ I have visited places on sight seeing tours that I cannot remember the name of and done the laying in bed and overeating thing, oh and got the sunburn too whilst not really taking care of myself as I was cruising along in switch off mode.
     And finally I have also arrived here….. “I realised that when I am living the way I feel to live, it doesn’t matter where I am and what I’m doing – it’s about how I’m living in that moment.”
     Great to embrace each day without feeling the need to escape a moment of it.

173. Anonymous, this is quite an expose on the “get away holiday syndrome” that so many rely on to keep them going in an unfulfilling life…(perhaps it is not good to have a carrot that keeps us accepting unhappiness and disharmony!)

     You show the possibility of living in a way that is so beautiful there is no NEED to get a break from it.

     This feels like a true life.

     1. Well said Jo, the ‘holiday’ trap can be a way to maintain an unsustainable way of living the rest of the year, ouch – I know that from the past. Really, if we make life about living and connecting with us and our day-to-day rhythm every day then life is very different and there is no need to escape.

174. Thank you for sharing Anonymous. It’s always great to reflect on why I want to go on a holiday – am I looking to escape or to have some time with myself and my partner. If I am wanting to escape from the life I am living then something about the way I am living is not right and so it’s a great opportunity to look at it. And yes, it’s easy to get caught up in the I’m on holiday mode – I did that for years, even when I wasn’t on holiday!

175. What an amazing blog. What if we used our holidays, not as an escape but an opportunity to deepen our relationships with ourselves – now that would be cool!

176. What a great discovery, Anonymous. I have found that yes there are times when I need a ‘holiday’ but I no longer want to stop and laze around. Instead I feel the desire to still be productive, it just happens to be a time where there is more of a focus on me. A space to check-in on myself and see if there are any changes in the way I am living that would be more supportive for me.

177. Thanks for this super blog Anonymous. I do remember dragging myself through each year and waiting patiently for that annual holiday then feeling down and depressed about coming home because my everyday life felt miserable and hard. Now I have made my life so great that I dont need to get away from it! Holidays are fun, but I look forward to coming home too.

178. Yes, it seems like I can came back from my holidays more tired than when I left, dreading getting back into my routine. I could be questioning my daily routine! With the support of Universal Medicine I am letting my day unfold, focusing on quality rather then quantity, focusing on every detail to support me be in my day – rather then just getting through it. Ken Elmer

179. Thanks Anonymous, good wise words. Earlier in the year I went to Bali for a family wedding and managed to stick to my daily rhythm by about 90% which under the circumstances was very good for me. In the past I may have folded by drinking, eating or smoking something that I knew didn’t feel right in my own body. By staying in my rhythm I was able to observe what was going on around me. The over eating, over drinking, overdoing everything.. People not only taking a break from life but also taking a break from reality.

     One of the days I agreed to go on a water sports day which involved scuba diving, being dragged behind a high-speed boat etc. I couldn’t help wondering why I wasn’t getting a kick out of doing all these activities – as I would have in the past. I realised that all these activities are designed to check you out for a while, take you away from the norm.

     Thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I have no need to check out anymore as my life is pretty good as it is, as long as I maintain my daily rhythm.

     1. yeah the buzz may go but the steady pulse of love inside your body sure makes up for it!

     2. So true Kevin, we have invented all these things to do to distract us from just being with ourselves. We continually seek thrills and new experiences because our daily lives lack true joy and vitality. I too have found that by honouring what feels right for my body, creating a loving rhythm in my life, my need to get distracted and entertained has just fallen away. These days a holiday means spending time with people, enjoying their company and simple pleasures, but always honouring my rhythm and continuing to live as I live everyday and I enjoyed them immensely.

180. Thanks Anonymous – you make great points about living the true you every day and the importance of rhythm.

181. It’s an awesome process you went through, and have shared with us, because for so many they live their whole year waiting for the time they can leave everything behind and go on holiday, they live holiday to holiday. But what your article is offering everyone is a different way to approach a holiday and it’s awesome, thank you.

182. Anonymous this is brilliant and very inspiring. Thank you.

183. Hi Anonymous, thank you for sharing your experience and unfolding with family holidays. It makes a lot of sense; it is up to us to choose to stay in our own rhythm or to enjoin others for ‘comfort’, which in truth doesn’t even feel comfortable at all. If we live lovingly and supportive to ourselves in a loving rhythm in our daily life, it makes true sense to keep that rhythm going when travelling – as much as possible, lovingly so.

184. Hi Anonymous, thank you for this awesome sharing. I have also just discovered that when I am on vacation and I just follow the ‘normal’ holiday mood of taking a break I feel absolutely awful and how very very important it is to keep my rhythm wherever I go.

     I agree, the bathtub office is wonderful, there is always a way!

     1. Well said Esther, same for me – I always looked at holidays as the reward I deserved, providing the down time from all the hard work and struggle I felt. Even thought I may have felt to do some work whilst I was away, I somehow thought that to fit in to the picture of what a holiday looks like, I should be doing nothing – otherwise I’m not really on holiday.
        This makes me question what a holiday actually is.. And whilst these thoughts may still pop into my head, it’s been through the love and support of Universal Medicine that I am developing an ever deepening connection with myself; which in turn is meaning I have less need to see a reward through “holiday” or conform to the ideals around it.. A great article.

     2. Yes even a day out of rhythm from connecting and feeling part of the whole purpose of life feels awful to me!

     3. So true – ‘holiday mode’ feels awful to me, and leaves me feeling sluggish and lazy – not exactly the point of a holiday I’m sure!

185. Amazing discoveries, and great interior design skills to boot: the office in the bathtub! That should really take off, and you read it here first!

186. Awesome Anonymous. I loved you sitting in the bath tub with your ipad!

187. Hi Anonymous – Thank you for bringing light into an arena of life that I too had struggled with until recently, as the puported purpose of life for my partner was to travel as a reward for all the hard working years. I tried all manner of things to escape the energy that I saw as not love when days at sea followed one after another – like walking a hundred kilometers around the deck – this only resulted in bursitis. Often confusion, resentment and guilt would overcome me. But now I can look forward to a 12 day sojurn at sea with all the family in July – (14 of us) to celebrate 50 years of wedded bliss so to speak, now knowing that I do not have to judge nor resist, but I can choose my own loving rhythm and just be all that I am.

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