IT is not every day that we have opportunities for staycations. Actually, and quite more commonly, we take vacations which I do understand because you would want to be whisked off to some far off place of beauty and wonderment. Someplace where you can unwind and explore, and meet other people a change of pace should always be accompanied with a change of faces right? Hehehe. It is always an adventure worth saving and planning for when you go on vacations.
In the case of staycations, I thought: who would want to have one? How can it be called as such when you never get to go anywhere? How can it even qualify as a vacation?? Apparently when you reach a point when you are too busy to have time just to kick your shoes off and do nothing within the comforts of your own home or in your hometown, a staycation can actually become a very attractive getaway.
You suddenly find yourself planning for such time off, when you simply stay wherever you want and do whatever it is you miss doing before you got too busy to even breathe!
Unfortunately though, none such vacations has ever managed to push through in our household. It seems that something always comes up right about the time when a staycation is about to be taken. We always end up with half the people or worse, none at all!
Miracles of miracles, we had a staycation this weekend and everyone was on board! There was a lot of laughter and fun for everyone, we were drunk with endorphins! I guess part of the magic stems from the fact that it was sort of a last minute thing. Hardly no clear, laid out plans like the ones before (that never happened) and yet everything just fell into place!
We all welcome a much needed time out right? I took advantage of the opportunity to read a book and relax in a tub! As soon as I drew my bath and melted the bath salts in the inviting warm water, I jumped in, to read a long overdue book. I did manage to read a few chapters and was quite happy feeling the warm water squish between my toes but then, the heady aroma of lemon, rosemary and vanilla from the salts just soothes your mind that it seemed a better idea to just enjoy the moment without doing anything at all.
To be able to experience such kind of relaxation may be fast becoming a novelty today. We always seem to be busy that we often have to push aside some much needed ‘me’ time. We all have our valid reasons for choosing work over relaxation but we really should allow ourselves some time to unwind, even when it seems to ‘humble’ to even talk about.
I thought maybe the reason why being in that warm tub felt so relaxing was because I may be re-experiencing how it felt when I was in my mother’s womb. You know, being in that warm, sloshing cocoon of amniotic fluid, that allowed us to grow for nine months in our mother’s belly? As I lay in the tub, shifting from one side to the other, you do feel that sense of comfort.
As one side of my head become immersed in the warm water, a certain calmness came over me. I realized too, as minutes passed and I remained in that position, I could hear my heart beating. When was the last time that you ever heard your heart beat amidst stillness and calm? Would not that totally make you feel relaxed? I was. And it made me feel happy about how things were in my life at the moment. It made me feel that I was in a good place. It made me feel that everything was okay.
We all need that secret hiding place. That feel good place where all good things are kept, happy thoughts and memories that remind us how much we have accomplished. It brings us back to experiences that can only encourage us to go on and keep moving despite that challenges that we may be facing.
The good place makes us feel a bit more positive about the future.
As I found myself thinking that maybe we Filipinos will be wiser this 2016 when we pick out new President. We all know about the corrupt trying to come out good, no, almost angelic. We all know the ones who deserve to be trusted and maybe considered to lead the country. We just have to find the right combination and hope that the political parties too, will come up with the best tandems that will promise to give more to the people, not take and keep most for themselves.
That good place makes us feel better, or at least, feel less pain.
Endorphins, baby! The good place is not just a location where we physically need to be, it is also a state of mind we need to attain to set our thoughts free. Laughter and acceptance are great medicines. When you have it, it makes moving on easier. We have to find the good chi and let it flow freely within us!
So it may seem that I have gotten lost in my thoughts in the tub. But this is the good kind of lost!
The good place will always make us feel good about ourselves. It will encourage us when we feel that we are already defeated. It allows us to look forward to the future despite our feelings of hopelessness. I guess it is a good place because it reminds us of happy days that may have been buried deep and forgotten. Sounds cheesy and melodramatic, but wait till you find yourself in that dark hole of despair. Any good thing, no matter how infinitesimal it may be, will be a bringer of light and hope.
Happy Father's Day Everyone! Have a Happy Sunday and an even happier week ahead!