I love going on vacation because everything seems so unfamiliar. When you are discovering and learning and feeling new things, it's nearly impossible not to have that fuzzy tingling sensation all over. It's like falling in love. You know the feelings of newness won't last but it feels so good while it does. Unfortunately we can't be on vacation all the time. And if we were, would that not become normal, everyday, and familiar? We would be right back where we started.
But sometimes in everyday life there are moments of realization or recognition of something we never quite saw before. Or at least something we see in a new way. We discover something new in the familiarity of our lives and feel alive, refreshed, and awake.
Last night, a Thursday of all days, I was sitting in a cafe sipping soup and listening to some older Jack Johnson they had playing when I realized I was feeling that warm, fuzzy, tingly sensation all over. The cafe was all rustic wood and I was watching people come in and out ordering smoothies and sandwiches and it felt like I was somewhere else, on vacation. I can't really pinpoint what it was, but I felt happy and relaxed. And I started to think about that feeling and how much I love it. There is nothing like it. It's a high of sorts. Like detaching your body from your worries and cares and just being in the moment.
What a wonderful trick it would be to learn to embrace that feeling and carry it with you in your life. To look at your everyday life with affection and contentment. To drive the same way to work everyday but love it more each time. To hold your love in your arms but feel the beating of your heart and longing for having been away from each other. To enjoy your morning walk like you're doing it for the first time.
I think this is possible and an entirely admirable ambition. There must be people who achieve this every day. But even to experience such detachment and calm once a week would be therapeutic at its worst.
