Every year I get away with my family to an overseas holiday location: I have been doing this for so long that I have lost count of the amount of countries I have visited, the number of sites I have seen and the tours I have been on.
This yearly holiday was built up to be another exciting adventure that had been planned months before, even though I never actually read what I was doing and where I was going until the days leading up to my departure. All I remember was planning the trip to get away and take a break from life.
When I caught up with friends over the Christmas break I was frequently asked, “Are you going away for the holidays?”, to which I would excitedly reply YES and rattle off another exotic location or destination far, far away.
I calculated that, in my many years of travel I have logged up a great many miles and covered just about every continent in the world. Over time I noticed that my trips gradually decreased in length from two months, to several weeks, to a week, when I was often wondering why I was travelling in the first place?
Was it something to do with appreciating historical landmarks, natural wonders, meeting and connecting to the local people or was I trying to take a break from my life? These questions would often resurface and I couldn’t quite understand why.
Recently I returned from a short holiday trip overseas with my family. Whilst enjoying the sightseeing and connecting with the gorgeous local people, I just didn’t feel as though I was truly being or enjoying me. I engaged in all the tourist activities, relaxed by the pool, read a book, visited historical monuments… but felt as though my days were not being fully lived. I noticed I was getting very tired during the day, napping regularly and often looking for excuses to eat, even though my body was clearly showing me I wasn’t hungry. I could feel in my body that something wasn’t right.
The vitality that I know myself to have was gone. It didn’t make sense – I was on my yearly holidays!
I noticed that the typical tourists’ day consists of:
- Sleeping in,
- Heading down to a late breakfast with a smorgasbord of food and drink,
- Being driven around by a local tour guide to a tourist attraction,
- Returning to the hotel for lunch,
- Swimming in the hotel pool followed by more drinks and food by the bar,
- Afternoon nap,
- Shower and dress for pre-dinner drinks,
- Late dinner or an evening out in the city.
Although this was the rhythm of the holiday crowd, I felt as if I was missing my usual rhythm. I felt out of whack and wasn’t truly enjoying myself… I wasn’t truly enjoying me… I felt like I was putting the needs of others first as a way of not disrupting the status quo, to keep things light and happy on the surface and to keep up with the holiday spirit. Did I have an ideal or a belief about holiday etiquette and how a holiday should be?
But the question that kept repeating itself was… “What was I wanting to get away from and what in my life was I wanting to take a break from?”
I then realised….
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 could now see that I was taking a break from me so that I could live the holiday rhythm. 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. Even though it felt great choosing what was right for me and my body (which was very different from others’ choices), I didn’t want to stand out and look like the odd one out. But then I question myself, “what was I actually wanting to blend in with?” Late-nights out? Overeating? Sleeping in? Indulging in food several times a day? When I looked at it like this I was able to break the craziness of ‘trying to blend in’ and I felt the power of my daily rhythm and the absoluteness it brings to my body – so why wouldn’t I want to let this shine out?
It became clearer…..
By day three of my 10 day long trip I got my STOP moment! I felt sluggish, heavy and there was a level of irritability that was slowly being felt. I realised then and there that I needed to stop following the rhythm of a ‘typical (yearly) holiday’, as it no longer supported me. I chose to come back to my natural daily rhythm.
I woke and felt to make this holiday not about ‘a getaway to take a break from life’, BUT about taking the full me on this trip. I brought back my natural rhythm in the day and went about living and enjoying me in each moment.
Once I claimed that the way I go about living my daily rhythm was truly about what felt great for me, things started to shift. I no longer felt the need to do what others wanted whilst on holiday. I spent more time listening to what felt right for me and how I wanted to enjoy this holiday. 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.
There was nothing to get away from as I was truly enjoying being me.
What did this look like?
I decided that I would choose what to do in the day rather than waiting to hear what others were doing. This meant that I didn’t feel like I was a ‘party pooper’. I joined my family on sightseeing trips, I also made choices to return to the hotel if I felt tired and needed to rest for a while. I made changes to the way I ate and waited to feel whether I wanted to eat instead of eating because we were heading out for a meal or everyone was getting the afternoon cravings for a sweet treat.
I carried healthy snacks and water for longer journeys in boats, trains and buses and always took an extra piece of clothing to keep me comfortable and warm. I honoured myself by going to bed when I felt tired. I noticed and appreciated that my hotel roommate would turn down the volume on the TV and respectfully turn off the lights to not disturb me. These simple adjustments during the day made me feel so much lighter as I was returning to my natural rhythm and playful self.
Yes, I must admit that it freaked out my family when I woke early (whilst on holidays!!!) to start on work projects on my iPad. I retreated to the bathroom as it was the only quiet space that would not disturb the others in the room whilst they slept. With a cushion as a seat and a blanket placed lovingly in the bathroom bathtub, I set to work: I felt at home even though I was miles away. Other days I would nestle myself into comfy couches in the front foyer or find a quiet spot near the pool for a while before returning to enjoy time with the family.
Yes, the family remarks came thick and fast as to why I was “doing any work whilst on holiday”.
- You should be relaxing it’s a holiday.
- Why are you doing that now?
- We’re on holidays to get away from work.
- You’re supposed to be having fun, not working.
All these questions had popped into my head well before they were asked of me. Yes, I did ponder on these but my body gave me the answer loud and clear; 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.
‘Connect to your rhythm and let the day unfold.’
If the day’s unfoldment included implementing my natural rhythm that supported me from home then I needed to look at and build it into my day and way of being while on holiday.
Taking this trip helped me realise that I don’t need to take a break from life when I am on my yearly holidays. 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. I came to appreciate how much I enjoy travelling and holidaying with my family and that there was no need to ‘get away’ or switch off or change who I am, even though I was miles away from home. I still enjoyed all that was on offer and by reconnecting to my natural rhythm I felt the same vitality as I did at home.
I now know how to avoid feeling sluggish whilst on holiday.
I have come to realise that:
- My yearly Holidays are what I choose them to be.
- 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…
Thanks to the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine 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.
By Anonymous
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
I’m finding taking a so called break is way more tiring then working, crazy how we twist things around to suit what we want…
Back to work !!
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.
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.
We are creatures of habit which makes us easy to take advantage of. we don’t know what to do with ourselves because we spend the biggest portion of our lives being told what to do at work and as soon as we stop so many of us do nothing more than clean, polish and maintain all the shiny things we have bought with the money we have worked so hard to get. Then we go for a ride in the car, socialise and overindulge our bodies until we go back to work.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
This was a fantastic read! Thank you so much for sharing. I really enjoyed reading about how you changed your holiday rhythm back into your daily rhythm and how much more supportive that felt. Even on my days off I don’t feel right if I’m not dressed and ready by 8 o’clock. Its amazing how we become so used to routine and how much that can truly support us. its totally cool that you took your iPad on holiday and did work projects. It totally makes sense that if we live a life that is naturally fulfilling, has rhythm and is supportive then a holiday will be enjoyed even more because we don’t have to change who we are we can just enjoy whatever we are there to experience. And with a life like that, committed to living with presence who needs a break when we are so amazing its us that makes the world amazing not what we achieve in the world.
some really great points you make here Anonymous, why do we feel the need to take a break from life, whether it on holiday, a day trip or even some hours in front of the TV. We have all taken this on as a normal part of life but what your blog asks us to ponder on is why do we need this? What is it in our lives that we do not like or doesn’t feel right that we need to have times to check out and/or numb ourselves. What your blog shows is that if your rhythm and connection works then every day and every situation will be the same n quality. If it doesn’t lets look at what it is that does not work.
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!
I just love your depiction of a typical tourist day! So true! I really enjoyed reading about your realisation that rhythm is key in life and that breaks away from can be a killer to our connection to ourselves.
This is a great sharing and awesome that you have exposed that a holiday is not about getting away from your life but about living you in full in that moment regardless of where you are or what you are doing…. and I love the office bathtub!
Usually when I go away I find it a great way to see how solid my rhythm is. Sometimes I find what I think is my rhythm has become my routine so the change of location, time zone, country can be a great way to check in. One thing I find is I can adapt quite well to a time zone change when my rhythm is solid but it does reflect to me how consistent I am in my rhythm which is more obvious when I am away from home.
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.
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.
Thanks Anonymous, what you share is a lovely reminder that our rhythm is what lovingly supports us from day to day, so it’s not something we want to leave at home when we go on a trip.
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.
This is an awesome blog!! How many holidays are people having to get away from life? It’s so easy to do, but as the holiday goes on it’s like the low grade misery becomes even more and more… Because you are less honouring of your body and your rhythm. What you have shared Anonymous could really help many people when on holiday to truly ‘enjoy’ it.
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!
I love your sharing Anonymous. I recently had a holiday and found that on those days there was a bit of lack of purpose and focus, it took me longer to get things done, I was tired more and I ate more. I was inspired by this piece as it provided me an opportunity to reflect on why this was happening when I was away.
I can relate to your story Anonymous especially as a contractor where I have breaks/gaps in between contracts. I have experienced what you describe regarding the lethargy that sets in and choices changing when I stray away from the strong rhythm that I have when I am working – it felt awful. So now when I am in between contracts I make sure that I stay with my established rhythm as this is what supports my day. My body loves a consistent rhythm no matter where I am in the world or where I am working, be it in an office or working from home or on holidays. Thanks for sharing your story…it is a great reminder for me me to appreciate and continue to refine my daily rhythm.
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.
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.
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
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.
What really stuck with me was to live your natural rhythm and then let your day unfold into whatever it must be. Lovely !
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.
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.
I agree cjames2012…I m planning to work until I drop…no retirement needed when life is a true joy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Anonymous it all boils down to the one question for all of us ‘who are you being now ?’ x
Mmmm…that’s right Alexis Stewart, who do we turn into to please family, friends etc & at whose expense? It clearly wasn’t working for Anonymous to go against her natural rhythm that supports her day.
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.
Anonymous, I found reading your blog great confirmation of what I have been feeling for some time. Thank you.
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.
Thanks Anonymous for highlighting the benefits and importance of a daily rhythm
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.
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.
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…
Dear Victoria,
It is very spot on when you use the words,”in a different country, for example. I have never been one to want to travel and in so have always allowed my financial situation to be the biggest obstacle to doing this. However just last week I feel clearly that travel is something that I am about to do, though this is not to rest my body, or to get excited about visiting some wonderful places. The feel was more to spend time with beautiful people that I have met that live overseas, connect closer to them, where they live and deepen my understanding in the differences of lifestyles that comes from living in different countries.
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.
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.
Thank you Anonymous for revealing that if one is living one’s rhythm and feeling very alive then it does not make sense to go on holidays and leave the rhythm ‘at home’. Why not enjoy life in full where ever you may be.
Love this Andrew
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!
This is so true Jade. Once I realised this on my holiday everything else felt so easy and the joy and vitality came back.
Awesome reflection Jade: ‘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!’
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.
I enjoyed your blog and your sharing that it is possible to hold our rhythm wherever we are in life. Thank you.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yes, this is a gorgeous blog from Anonymous. A nice way to have a holiday without feeling exhausted. It is interesting that feeling tired came from the holiday rhythm itself and not from any exhaustion carrying over from work. I wonder how often we realise that the way we live our holidays makes us tired?
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.
Wow – a completely different way to take a holiday – thank you for sharing – it’s very inspiring.
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.
Thank you Anonymous for writing this. It is so true that many holiday makers are on their “break from life”.
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?
So true simonwilliams8, no wonder my husband and I used to look at each other while on holidays and say ‘is it worth it?’, ‘its exhausting being on holidays’…. I can now see why… we were not keeping with our usual rhythm and therefore affecting our children’s natural rhythms as well…then disaster! Oh how those holidays would have been so different simply packing our rhythm to come with us.
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”.
i agree Shirl in any circumstances it is best to feel our own rhythm and honour what our odd is communicating with us. If we take a break from that are we not really taking a break from ourselves?
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.
So true Shirl… I’m currently on my way overseas for a holiday for 3 weeks and its not like any other holiday I’ve had before. I’m sitting here in the airport reading amazing inspiring comments and doing any work that I need to complete… with none of the previous pulls at me of ‘Your on holidays sit back read a magazine or watch a movie or eat something (anything)!’ Not that I couldn’t if I wanted to but its not what how I usually live so I ask myself ‘why start it now?’. Extending my everyday into my holidays is feeling more the norm now.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thank you Paul, indeed every day is divine as it is holy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Great reminder to trust our natural rhythm and to keep on checking to feel if it truly supports us. Thank you Anonymous.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Great point Monica, weekends can also take us out of our rhythm.
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.
Top blog Anonymous. Whether we are on holiday or not this is a great reminder to just be ourselves in any situation.
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.
“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.
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!
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!
Thanks Anonymous, it felt as if you were writing about my life. I too have been caught up in holidays being about taking a break from life. I went on holiday this summer with family. I tried to approach it in a different way, I got up early to work on projects and my family thought I was wired, rather than resting. I did enjoy family time in the pool and eating, however I was feeling heavy and sluggish. It wasn’t until I was back and I reflected what had happen, I realised I had lost my daily rhythm and even though I was up early, I had not connected to every moment and made my own choices, I was caught up in the ‘holiday mode’ and what others wanted to do.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thank you Anonymous for sharing. I must say that felt like a good reminder for me as I feel the same when I go and visit my parents in France. I tend to loose myself and my rhythm there, and even sometimes during the week end, I would still do my exercise but sometimes skip the walk and then I wouldn’t even do it later on in the day. It feels so different when we don’t take the time to be with ourselves…
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!
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!
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.
Such and inspiring blog Natasha. I know I have looked at holidays in the past as a need to get away, to rest and recharge my batteries, or I need some sun, and I have already gone into an expectation of what the holiday is going to bring. I love this line “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.” So true.
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.
An interesting blog thanks Anonymous. I’m currently on ‘holiday’ abroad for 6 weeks, and to read your description of the ‘typical’ holiday routine and attitude almost makes me shiver at the thought of how awful that sounds. I’ve never been one to take or want holidays to ‘see the world’ or escape my life but rather just enjoy living my same life in a different location, yet were it not for Universal Medicine helping me to have the amazing life I have, I could well have ended up in the ‘typical holidaymaker’ camp. If you need a holiday from your life then you’re not living it right!
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.
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
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.
yeah the buzz may go but the steady pulse of love inside your body sure makes up for it!
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.
Thanks Anonymous – you make great points about living the true you every day and the importance of rhythm.
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.
Anonymous this is brilliant and very inspiring. Thank you.
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.
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!
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.
Yes even a day out of rhythm from connecting and feeling part of the whole purpose of life feels awful to me!
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!
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!
Awesome Anonymous. I loved you sitting in the bath tub with your ipad!
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.