Why vacate?
From Leonardo da Vinci:
“Every now and then go away,
have a little relaxation,
for when you come back
to your work
your judgment will be surer;
since to remain constantly at work
will cause you to lose power
of judgment . . .
Go some distance away
because the work appears smaller
and more of it
can be taken in at a glance,
and a lack of harmony
or proportion
is more readily seen.”
(As quoted by Wayne Dyer in Wisdom of the Ages.)
I’m writing this post ahead of time, since by the time you read it we’ll be on the road driving home from Colorado.
And I don’t know about my husband or Bear, but I, for one, am bringing back a brain that’s been greatly improved by my week and a half away. Not to mention a body vastly happier after a solid week of yoga and a few massages and nothing but vegetarian food.
Leaving town for a vacation is always excruciating for me. I find all sorts of excuses for cancelling trips–too much work, too hectic to pack up and go, can’t we just stay home? I promise I’ll relax.
And I feel that way every time, even though I know by the end of the trip I’ll feel exactly like I do right now: calm, refreshed, healthy, ready to go back to work with renewed vigor.
I think there are two things at work: first, we all know that that last day or two before any trip is so stressful trying to get everything done and packed and ready that you don’t know why you bother putting yourself through it. It just doesn’t seem worth it. Second, sometimes taking a vacation seems too self-indulgent. Fill in the blank about why you don’t deserve to be nice to yourself.
But let’s examine Leonardo’s take on the whole thing: constantly working causes you to lose power and judgment. That’s a pretty compelling argument, especially since I know ifrom experience that it’s true. So why do I fight it every single time?
It’s not just formal vacations that bring this all up–it’s also the day-to-day necessity of enforcing a little downtime. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just don’t feel right unless I’m filling my entire day, back to front, with go, go, go. There’s always something to do, whether it’s laundry or bookkeeping or writing or returning calls. You just don’t feel right about dragging your eyes away from the computer to look out the window for a while, notice whether any flowers have come up, check on the population of birds in your garden.
But Leonardo tells us breaks are necessary. And maybe if we took ten minutes out of every hour–okay, every two hours–just to close our eyes and dip into some quiet, we wouldn’t need these big elaborate “oh, my gosh, I have to GET AWAY!” trips once or twice a year.
It’s easy coming back from a trip like this to dive right back into the hectic grind of daily life. To go back to hurrying, to striving, to always pressing forward.
But I’m going to experiment with keeping this slow pace. See how it feels not to rush. See how it suits me to believe that there is time enough for everything that’s important.
Love it if you experimented along with me.
Technorati Tags: Leonardo da Vinci, Wisdom of the Ages, Wayne Dyer, Simplification, Simplify Your Life, Slowing Down on Purpose Not Just Because You Can’t Take It Anymore
March 12th, 2007 at 8:19 am
“Why Vacate?”
And I thought this was a continuation of “Coffee Makes You Poop” or “Internal Cleansing By Ingesting Soap”
Did da Vinci hide that in a cryptex?
March 12th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Love the quote…. I pretty much don’t do “hectic” any more, retirement is great. Though of course I do wind up in the occasional client-panic situation, but it’s not often enough to fall into the “hectic pace” category thankfully!
Enjoy life…. because you can’t take it with you. Slowing down allows you to enjoy it more….
March 12th, 2007 at 10:59 am
I need to begin taking breaks during my writing time. I forget, and then my legs, hips, and back get sore.
And BTW, I finally took down my Christmas tree this weekend.
March 12th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Hmm, very true.
And when circumstances literally do not allow you to live at a slower pace, the human body has this neat defense mechanism called illness. I was sick for most of January, but it was some of the most relaxing time I’ve had in ages. My knee’s acting up, meaning I can’t run all over creation during drama practices, which also means that I’m not tired and short with people at same.
It’s still better to actually choose to take a vacation, but sometimes one will be handed to you whether you want it or not. Pay attention.
(Good post, Robin!)
March 12th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Back home after 11 hours of driving today. Whew.
And came home to find my schedule for the Buzz Tour that starts on Sunday, and more about that later, but WHEN AM I GOING TO SLEEP?
Anyway, Patrick, great to see other people with that fifth-grade humor. Thank you.
Heather, can’t believe you confessed that about the tree. Good for you, but you are such a Christmas violator. But again, thank you for your bravery in confessing.
Vc, I so agree that slowing down allows us to enjoy life more. It’s just funny how deliberate we all have to be about remembering that. Slowing down–at least for me–has to be a conscious choice.
And Miri, you’re so right about illness stepping in to knock some sense into you. That was my problem last fall. I was ignoring all the signs that I was letting it all get to me, and so bam! The body had to step in. This is another thing I have to deliberately remember. It’s a lesson I’ve had to repeat too many times (sounds like you have, too!).
March 13th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Miri, you really said a mouthful there.
I think the problem with a lot of us artistic and self employed types is we love what we do, so it’s that much harder to take downtime. The corporate types don’t seem to have the same problem, or at least not in the same way (they’re more stressed about whether they’ll have a job to go back to on their return, or who is politically doing what to undermine them while they’re gone.)
So yeah, the stress of getting ready to go may be a part of it, but also it’s like cutting out in the middle of childbirth to take a break. In a way I think it might be just a bit easier for you, Robin, if only because your projects are bigger and more long term, and you’re not working on 7-10 at the same time, though that also carries a different sort of stress, since one book bombing would have a much worse impact on you than one website bombing for me. I also could be wrong, considering I don’t know exactly all that your publisher is throwing at you. Those types of expectations would send me up a wall. I could NOT handle any of it.
Heather, you’re my kinda people, though truthfully, I’ve honed the art of procrastination so thoroughly that I usually put off decorating the house until next Christmas . . . every Christmas.
March 13th, 2007 at 9:34 am
Robin,
This is an awesome quote. Must remember this one.
I have to thank you so much for your incredible words of encouragement. You are just wonderful. Thank you. Now, I’m raring to get back to writing.
March 13th, 2007 at 11:02 am
Vivian, the most important piece of advice I ever got as a writer and that I can pass along to other writers is that 100% of the people who get published have finished their books (stories, plays, whatever), and 100% of them never gave up sending them out.
So be one of those 100%.