Beach Life

  Where do you go when you need to recharge? Maybe it’s the beach or camping in the woods. For me, if I am near the ocean, I find myself relaxed, contemplative, and running on a slower time clock. There is something about just sitting and listening to the sound of the waves or walking the shore in the quiet of my thoughts. I quite literally need my vacations for the sake of my sanity. Spending time at the beach recharges my soul and helps me hash out my inner questions. But what do you do the other times of the year, when you’re not at the beach, when you can’t slow down and you feel like you can’t quiet your mind to think? I believe it’s vital for our mental, spiritual, and emotional well being for us not only to find a few times a year to get away but also for us to find ways to bring little bits of the peace and joy we feel there into our everyday lives.
  The second beach vacation trip I ever went on, my in-laws were gracious enough to let me pick out the coffee flavor for us all for the week. I picked out a rich caramel coffee with a smell that was overpoweringly delicious. It has been more than ten years since that trip, but every time I get a whiff of a bag of caramel coffee I feel like I’m back on that trip. Opening up a bag of caramel coffee and sitting on the couch drinking a cup in the morning gives me a sense of calm and happiness because I associate that smell with that trip.  Try to find something like this for yourself. It may be a comfy sweatshirt that you bought on your trip that makes you feel relaxed. Maybe it’s a certain lotion, perfume, or shampoo that you used on that trip. Find little things to take you back mentally to your quiet space, and when you need a little bit of calm on a busy day, get them out and use them. This is a little trick that doesn’t have to take up a lot of time but can help you power through when you need it.
  And if you don’t take time to get away at least once a year, I want to highly encourage you to do it. You don’t have to make it a super pricy trip; just find somewhere where you can get away and gain some peace and quiet and let go of responsibilities for a few days. Take a notebook, write, read, walk, think, and  rest, and you will reap a healthier mind, body, and soul which will lead to far more productivity than if you just continue to push through week after week, year after year.
  You owe it to yourself to be the best you can be, and sometimes that requires a little mental rest and relaxation. Whether you’re getting away for the week, or just tricking your brain into a mini vacation,  make recharging a priority in your life, and you will not regret it.

~K.W.