Busy Vacations

I am here to tell you vacations can be stressful. Most of us think of vacations as an opportunity to relax and chill. But my wife sees it differently. When she plans vacations we are busy from the crack of dawn to late night; sight-seeing and taking in the attractions. We typically need a vacation from the vacation.

Recently, my wife planned a vacation to Disneyland for our son’s birthday. Going to Florida in the middle of winter seemed like a good bet; sunshine, warmth and a break from the cold winter. Then the fantasy of Disney came to life.

After the first day I knew I had to find some quiet time somewhere in the midst of all the shows, parades, excited kids and parents, smiling grandparents, long lines, longer lines, thrilling rides and the gastrointestinal challenging park food. (My only real plant-based culinary choice was the frozen banana on a stick with dark chocolate and nuts, but that is the subject for another blog post.)

Trying to find time in the morning to meditate before we went out didn’t work, because I was too tired from the night before to get up early enough and as soon as the sun was up my wife was beckoning us to get moving so we could go to breakfast and beat the long lines getting in to the parks. We literally spent twelve hours in the Magic Kingdom and that does not include the travel time to and from the park.

Then on day two, I found the Zen garden on the grounds of the Epcot center and decided this was a good place to recharge my physical and mental batteries. Despite the craziness of Disney, we had a good time. All of us were worn out as usual by the time we got home from our vacation. It goes to show you even in the midst of a fun and busy vacation it helps to quiet the mind and get in some downtime.