What does the concept of a warm weather reprieve mean to you?
The winter in the northeast has been especially trying this year. Enduring the brutally frigid winds can make it difficult to imagine how the reprieve destination will feel.
Taking the time with my wife in the Bahamas for our own warm weather respite, I’m in Exuma currently. It conjures up images of Hemmingway, settled in his Key West hideout where he could take time to concentrate on his writing, perhaps his cocktails, and let go of his duties as a war correspondent and political operative. The warm clime tends to attract many northerners from survival mode and allows the mind to open up space for reflection and creativity.
Taking in the memorizing scenery, such as this, does the trick:
Gone is the constant feeling that one always needs to be plugged in and turned on.
Replace that with….
The feeling of moist air on your face.
The warm and inviting ocean water.
The aching muscle and joint issues melting away and flexibility returning.
Once settled into the genteel surroundings, the avenues for creativity open. Juices start to flow that stimulate the desire to keep a journal, perhaps writing one’s memoirs, or writing a short story or novel.
Maybe painting is your thing. In the tropics, the color pallet of your surroundings opens a whole new world in your mind’s eye.
Aqua blues, deep spring greens, cotton whites. Clouds sail by, waves roll up on the shore. Palms bend in the breeze. Sunsets turn Columbo gold. Rain squalls present themselves in steel grey. One takes in the cute red or blue tiled roofs of the adorable seaside cottages.
It can open the mind to an important theme often overlooked in today’s world: how do I define myself outside of my career?
This conundrum hits us mainly in retirement, in discovering the next phase of life. However, in one’s working years, this is just as important. When hosting a dinner or other social gathering, how much more interesting these can be when guests have a wide range of experiences and interests? Maybe John and Rita just came back from Japan. Bill and Doris finished their 2-year home renovation project. Richard’s young son recently gave a recital before the Philharmonic where he performed an hour of Chopin.
What are your passions outside of your profession? Restoring a house on the Greek Island of Naxos, (pictured below in my previous warm weather reprieve)?
Whatever these passions may be, seize the time to jump headfirst or… to do absolutely nothing beyond deciding what the smoothie of the day should be.
Times like these are as vital as they are satisfying; be sure to carve out time for getaways that recharge your batteries.
