For the first time in years, I went away for the weekend. I had completely lost sight of the gift that leaving home for a short while is. HAVE YOU?
For me, it is so easy to get caught up in schedules, routines, and the workload of running a business, and adding onto that, supporting its and my own growth, as well as taking time to enjoy the life I have created. It can be work…
Because I love the life I have created, notice that I didn’t say I “escaped” for the weekend, there is nothing to escape. I love the life I have created, the home I have created, and the gifts of my family and friends.
Since I had nothing to escape, what I did instead was go away with a new friend and family member. Our brothers are married and have been together almost 40 years, yet she and I had never met until recently.
She flew in from Alabama to Gloucester MA and I drove in from Connecticut. Between developing a kinship, seeing castles, going on a whale watch, walking through Rockport while being in awe of our northeastern coastline, the power of nature, and even the dozens of little shops by the water, it was a full and yet relaxing trip.
We discovered this gorgeous little Italian tea shop that was always constantly filled with men in construction stopping in for a cappuccino, and us for tea and a cookie. (How quickly we developed a “ritual” of tea and a cookie mid-afternoon.) The added joy of an ethnic little shop was indescribable. The richness of culture and the camaraderie of everyone that walked in (even though I did not understand a word) as if they were all family added so much to my trip. I loved it.
In stepping out of my own world, going to bed earlier in the evening than normal and waking up so rested, I simply spent time luxuriating in my wonderfully comfortable bed each morning meditating on my life, my blessings, and my desire to serve.
I also realized, yet again, that the most important relationship in my life is the one I have with myself. Have I been taking care of my own body? My own prayer life? My own emotional needs?
I saw where so much is working and where things are not. It reiterated for me what I know but had forgotten; from a distance we get to see things so much more clearly.
We get to see ourselves, our lives, and our business, so much more objectively. I became more aware of all the transformations I have made in my business and remembered my decision to find balance yet fully live my values, goals, and visions. This trip was a result of that decision.
As I looked at my suitcase packed to go home, I felt blessed to be going back to all that I have created, while aware that the gift of getting away allowed me to appreciate it even more.
For me, going away and entering another world for a few days was a wonderful breather. It’s a wonderful gift to be able to step outside and look in.
In decorating it’s always good to go outside and then come back in and see the room from a fresh perspective. I heard a quote: ‘You can’t see the picture from inside the frame.” How true.
One artist I spoke to had a painting on an easel in her shop that she thought was completed but nonetheless was leaving it still for a few hours to look at it fresh later, to see if it needed more, it reminded me that after writing a book or an article I also leave it after the writing and come back to it a day or even a week later if it is a book, to read it with fresh eyes. Inevitably there is something I will change, sometimes a number of things. Going away for the weekend does the same thing for my life and for my soul.
Leaving what we know, what we love, can expand our view of the world, of the vast array of cultures around us, and the richness of this gorgeous world we live in. I have seen humpback whales up close, dolphins jumping through rough seas (yes very rough seas but that’s another story….) and seals swimming around the boat. I entered the world of Italian tradesmen for a brief second and drove through beautiful New England landscapes unlike where I live and feel so much richer.
I know not everyone can simply go away for a weekend but give yourself a gift if you can, and breathe, travel, and expand. Then go home and give thanks for the home and the life you have created.
Seeing it from a distance can provide so much insight and gratitude and what a blessed way to see your world!
