A few weeks ago, I shared my travel plans with a friend and he immediately jumped on his soapbox. He thinks our generation is "lazy" and that any type of vacation or time away from home and work is unnecessary and a waste of time. He does not understand why people pay money to go far away and sight-see.
Just as I was about to give him a sassy response, Julia Sugarbaker style, I stopped. I didn't have the energy nor the desire to explain. I simply shared one of my favorite Iyanla Vanzant quotes.
“Give from your overflow,” I said, calmly.
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“My interpretation is simple. Give from your overflow because if you give from what sustains you, you will eventually perish and have nothing to give at all. I am exhausted and working off of fumes.”
I learned from my parents that a well-rested mind is the creator of brilliance. To me, that means that in order to be truly brilliant, you need to rest your mind and relax from time to time.
Of course, my friend wasn't open to all that “weird talk,” so he said, “I’ll just follow your Facebook and Instagram and pretend I was there.”
Ironically, I’d just read an article in the Travel of Orange newsletter titled, “The Benefits of Going Offline when Traveling.” I didn't tell him in the moment, but decided he can just hear about my weeks of nothingness upon my return.
Just like work requires our full attention, we owe it to our family and friends to be fully present during our time together. Those emails, selfies and status updates can wait a few days.
By: Meredith Talford, Upstate Training & TA Specialist, SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
No comments:
Post a Comment