Vacation gets us away from the regular pattern of daily life–relax the mind, relax the body.

To take a break from daily little things that always seem to be calling for attention. (Why don’t they need attention when we aren’t there?)

Oddly this seems to be a somewhat challenging. I wonder why I don’t want to hang out on a lounge chair to read and nap all day long? Jump in the pool or lagoon to cool off occasionally, drink fruity drinks with umbrellas in them… it’s supposed to be vay-kay groove, right?

Originally uploaded by Shawn

Truth is, my mind still wants a little more mental stimulation. I suppose that this means I haven’t made it far enough in my meditation practice to let go of that addiction. Addicted to caffeine (minor addiction, mind you) and mental stimulation (not always, mind you).

Could be worse I suppose. I could be addicted to… I dunno, something that someone would deem justified in sending me off to some facility named after a famous person to get over. Though at least then I’d have to deal with it.

It has to be a certain kind of mental stimulation, though. Fun stuff. I’ve no interest in combing through a guide book and packing the days with activities–nope.

But I also can’t just sit for days on a lounge chair.

Enough movement and interaction with others to trigger some neurons firing, not so much that it packs my head, and thereby crowding out spontaneous thought. When there’s the right amount of both, ahhhh, that’s my kind of vay-kay. That’s the sweet spot!