Get Away From It All Right Now - Gratitude Journal #9

One of the nice things about travel is "getting away from everything" that weighs us down when we're at home. When we "get away from it all" for a week, we might even feel comfortable leaving our computer behind and if we're on a cruise ship without cell signal or wifi, we might even turn off our phone and completely disconnect from everything EXCEPT that which is right in front of us at that very moment.


(all images on this post are from anneruthmann instagram feed)

There's a lot of power in simply connecting with only our immediate surroundings- especially when what's in front of us creates a positive exchange of energy, rather than draining our energy (like computers do). It's when real people smile back at us, real conversations make us literally laugh out loud rather than just in our head, real smells ignite our senses from a freshly prepared plate of food, or the real wind brushes against our face during an outdoor walk or bike ride. We can actually have these sensations every single day, but we often choose false sensations that we get from riding in the car with the air conditioning, watching food shows on TV while eating something zapped in a microwave, texting conversations with our phones and using smilies instead of speech inflections, and falling in love with movie stars on our computers instead of the person sitting next to us who has always been there for us. All the more reason why we have to make opportunities for these real sensations to happen more frequently in real life- so we remember what it REALLY feels like- not just what our brain remembers it feeling like.



We tend to think that we need to escape to a completely different world or place to really "get away from it all"- but the truth is that we can step back even in the midst of everyday life and create our own mini-vacations from whatever is weighing us down in that moment. We have a power button to turn off our phones for an hour or for sound sleep until we feel like waking up, rather than when some email or social media alert wakes us up. We have the physical power to step away from our computer and take a walk in our surroundings to see what is new or has changed around us while we were too busy to notice. We have the power to take a lunch break outside at work instead of eating inside the same building full of the same sensations we've been working in all day, and to invite friends to reconnect and laugh with to make it even more "sensational." We can "get away from it all" whenever we need to, and then return to it all feeling more refreshed, balanced, and happier because we took a moment to restore our connection to reality and the world around us and to realize that whatever is happening right now is only momentary, and eventually it will change - just as the leaves fall from trees, flowers bloom from dirt, and footprints get washed away with the tides.



I am so grateful for the gift of life and choice, and for this moment, right now, that we get to connect with these words and thoughts. You may even be seeing this at a completely different time from when I've written it, but it's because you weren't meant to see it until right now. This moment is yours. Yesterday is gone (stop obsessing over it) and tomorrow will be different (so don't worry about it). This moment, RIGHT NOW, is yours to create- take it and make the most of it.




{If you appreciated this post, please join me in my journey to have a greater positive impact on the world by writing your own gratitude journal and sharing it or a link to it in the comments below. I would love to read your moments of gratitude and share them with others!}