vacation – We Only Get One Chance

THIS IS WHAT I SEE

So this is what I see…

Many people left the state for spring break. Many people went down south to the sun, sand and beaches and had a blast. All the stresses of ordinary life fall away while out of their normal environment.

I have seen many of these people back in my office, Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic, this week. They say things like: “My low back pain was fine while I was gone but just a couple days before returning home, it started to flare up again.” “I did a 28 hour drive to Florida and back and I was fine, but now that I am back that sciatic pain is back.” “We had a great time, we were swimming and walking on the beach and my shoulder really relaxed. Now that I am home and running around all over for normal life, that shoulder is driving me crazy.”

One of the reasons we LOVE vacation is because we get a break from the grind of the day to day, we get to let go and maybe smile a little bit more, connect with the people that are important and fill our days with conversation and laughter. We become light and live that light and actually enjoy the lightness of being.

I want to know who made the rule that regular life cannot be like that. I have a bone to pick with whomever said we cannot enjoy the lightness of our being while running kids around, taking care of our homes, going to work and whomever is spreading the idea that we shouldn’t smile through the good, bad and the ugly during the mundane-ness of life?

We can…and we should.

If life becomes that enjoyable while we are away from it all, maybe we could be doing a little better job at enjoying it while we are in the thick of it.

I have used this phrase quite a bit over the past week or so…”Life just really isn’t that serious.”

I really mean it when I say that but I don’t mean that it is all rainbows and butterflies either. It just means that your rate of making it through your days so far is 100% and, until you are at the end, I bet that rate stays right up there at 100%;) If you ask me, we are all doing a heck of a good job and that is pretty freaking amazing!!

So let’s think about it. We get up in the morning and of course that part is really important. But what happens if you burn breakfast, run out of eggs and spill your bowl of fruit right down the front of your favorite white shirt as soon as you leave the house. I bet you will find something else for breakfast and make a joke of your outfit to those who ask and go on with your day. I bet you will gracefully figure out all parts of your day and in the end make it out with flying colors!

There can be trauma and drama along the way and I am in no way trying to minimize that, some really bad stuff happens to good people. However when we take a look at the bigger picture, most of it isn’t that big of a deal and isn’t worth much additional energy.

And during the days that we do not get to spend on the sandy beaches in the sunshine, what about creating that feeling of being on sandy beaches and out in the sunshine? I do not mean by creating a literal beach in your life, I mean by finding things to regularly do that bring you to the feelings you feel when you are there, things that make you feel more connected to nature and the Universe, things that connect you more to your community and activities and people that bring you joy.

What about finding more laughter, even if it means taking on a joke-telling hobby? What if you woke up tomorrow and you set an intention of finding out what everyone’s favorite joke is? What if you started just telling the joke “why did the chicken cross the road?” Making other people laugh, will make you laugh. That is just one idea of how to lighten the day. One lighter day leads to 2 lighter days which leads to weeks and months and years of a lighter life.

When life is light, the contrast of vacation will not be quite as much and the settling in of daily life will take on an easier and more graceful feeling. A lighter life leads to a healthier mind, less stress, more joy and in the long run, greater health!!!

As a chiropractor, I see all kinds of ailments, aches and pains and usually they are stemmed from something happening somewhere along the lines in life; physical stresses, mental/emotional stresses and chemical stresses. When we realize that the low back tension, the sciatic pain and the shoulder pain and stiffness are, not always but largely, exacerbated from the heaviness of our thoughts and stress and the anticipation of our normal life, we can really start to let some of the stuff go. Monday will be Monday. Tuesday will be Tuesday. Wednesday will be Wednesday…and so on. They have no real meaning until we place a meaning on them. If we wish them all away in hopes the weekend will get here sooner or vacation will get her sooner, or summer break will get here sooner…WE ARE MISSING OUT ON LIFE!!!

Let’s lighten the days. It starts in our minds and in our hearts. Let go of the pattern of dreading the mundane, that has become a bad habit. Let go and laugh more with your children, cut some slack to the car that just cut you off in traffic and be grateful for every single sunrise and every single sunset you get to experience.

Life is really not all that serious…this is what I see.

SISTER

As many of you know, I grew up with 3 brothers. Can you guess how many days were 3 against 1? All of them and what I would have given to have a sister.
This past holiday season, I spent 11 days with really close friends in the sunshine on the beach. We have traveled quite a bit together over the years. None of us have any kids, so life is simple right now, and while it is, we will travel.
We have had many different accommodations through the years, however, this is the first year we have had a rental house that we all stayed under one roof. At the last minute, a girlfriend of ours joined us. Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Sister The original plan was I would have my own bedroom but now that she was coming, we would be sharing.
Vacation is meant for relaxation and recharging and I have to admit, the idea of sharing a room wasn’t ideal. I have a sleeping issue and unless I have just the right bed, and just the right pillows, and just the right temperature, and just the right amount of noise, I have a challenge getting to sleep. So adding another person for 10 nights seemed overwhelming and not relaxing.
This girlfriend of mine, Allie, I have known for almost 15 years. We have been friends since the moment I met her and have navigated many of life’s ups and downs together. We truly go WAY back!!
The first night, I slept like a baby. It was almost as if I had a guardian angel with me. Truly that is what my sweet friend Allie has become. She is an amazing chiropractor and a powerful woman, however she is so much more than that. She is a healer, an intuitive and she lives to serve and nurture others. We had 6 chiropractors under one roof and she was the one most of us wanted to be adjusted by. We shared in the adjusting duties but she was busy all week checking and adjusting all of us.
As a group of 6, we would spend our days running and playing and dancing and singing and surfing and eating and making movies and clowning around. We would talk about deep topics and superficial topics, topics that effect our day to day as well as those that effect our entire lives.
Then we would all finish our days and head to our respective resting places. Allie and I would shut the door to the outside world and usually pull out our phones. We would chat for a bit and fill in some blanks and share funny things that came through email or Facebook. Then we would turn out the lights and sometimes those conversations would continue.
Remember those sleep-overs as kids when the conversation would head into the after-dark times? That is exactly what it was and we would stay up late.
It was like sharing a room with sister that I never had and I cherish that time with her. Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Sister 2
In my normal day to day, I spend a lot of time in solitude. I have a busy chiropractic office, Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic, and I see a lot of people on a daily basis. I also spend a lot of time out and about amongst people. When I come home, it is just me. I like it that way. I like that when I leave my house in the morning, I know it will be in the same condition when I return in the evening because I am the only one creating the space.
But there are times when it is truly lonely and the responsibility of creating energy that is happening in my house my solo responsibility as I am the only one creating the space.
I realized when I returned home a couple days ago that I miss her tremendously. I miss all my friends, my tribe, but I miss my sister. Sometimes it takes the contrast in life to realize what one truly values. The contrast of the cold helps to appreciate the hot; the contrast of dark helps to appreciate the light, and the contrast of alone-ness helps to appreciate good company.
I know she, and so many other friends, are just a phone call, email or text message away. I have some good friends that are just a short car ride from my home. I love the life and space that I create on my own, and at the same time, I have shifted a little bit and am looking forward to spending more regular time in good company. I realize the juice of life can be squeezed out of the days as a solo mission, but is so much sweeter when shared.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Thank you for all your time and energy this past week my sweet sister Allie. Much, much, much love!!

BEAUTIFUL BELIZE

I am just getting home from one of the greatest vacations I have ever taken…to beautiful Belize. I want to share a little bit about the week with you so you can have an idea about the experience. There are a few specific blog posts that I will add after this one with more details.

The week started out with a 2:30AM wake-up at my home in order to make a 6:00AM flight in Detroit. Travel from Michigan to Belize is quite simple with just 2 short flights and I was there just after noon Central Time.

It is always dramatic to leave the snow here in Michigan and just 6 short hours later be somewhere tropical. I am amazed at air travel every time I do it. It is absolutely astounding how far you can get in such a short amount of time.

The first night was spent at a hotel in Belize City. Since I have been home, many people have asked me if I would recommend Belize for a vacation. I cannot honestly say whether I would or not. If you are going to the country of Belize, and if Belize City is a true representation of what the country is like (and I do not know if it is or not), I would maybe choose a different destination. If you are going to do something like the trip I was on (and I also have no idea if the trip really represents Belize), then ABSOLUTELY!!!

On Saturday morning we ate an early breakfast and we all piled onto the “Batfish” which is Slickrock’s vessel for transporting us to the island we will spend the week on. It was a relatively easy (you will see why I say “relative” later in this post) 3.5 hour boat trip.

80 degree weather, sun shining, head sticking out through one of the hatches in the roof of the boat, wind blowing, great people, teal water, completely unplugged, and a week long vacation still ahead of me – this is the final 30 minutes of the ride before we pulled up to Long Caye, the small island we would spend our week on. I will forever have that image and moment etched into my mind. It was one of those “tears of gratitude” moments in my life…which I seem to experience more and more of all the time.

I cannot do the week any justice by describing the details of it all but the days went something like this…wake up, teach a yoga class, swim, breakfast, rest, take a sea kayak to a snorkel site, snorkel, kayak back to the island, lunch, kite board lesson, kayak surf session, rum punch and appetizers, jump on handlebars of a bike and ride to other side of island to watch the sunset, change out of bathing suit to dry clothes for dinner, eat fabulous food with lots of green habanero hot sauce, have great conversation, adjust the staff members or other people on the trip, listen to an informative and entertaining lecture given by our tour director, a warm breeze on the walk back to the cabana, and falling asleep to the surf just down from the cabana which is more like a lean-to and doesn’t even necessitate 4 full walls. Wake up the next day and repeat.

The staff was absolutely amazing and little did we know, they were tracking an intense storm heading our direction all week. Even though the storm was getting pretty crazy, they didn’t relay that information to us until it was absolutely necessary, allowing us to stay unplugged from society.

A few of us ended up leaving the island a day early due to the impending storm and what it may do to our travel plans and the necessity to be home for work on Monday. The initial report was “a storm is going to hit tomorrow around 11. Please have your luggage ready and at the boat dock by 9.” At breakfast the next morning it changed to “eat quick, go get your bags packed, have them ready at 8, wear your foul weather gear, grab a life jacket, put it on and zip it up.” Ummm…ok.

The next hour and a half was spent bracing myself against the side of the boat and the

hull, with my back to the seas so that my hood would keep me dry, however mostly just so that I didn’t have the visual as the boat was rolling up and over swells bigger than it (this picture is taken as things eased up a lot). To say it was intense, is more than an understatement. Good news is that I lived to tell the tale and laughed though most of it because I just couldn’t believe it was happening in real life!

The crew of the boat, the staff and all that were involved really made the situation the best it
could have possibly been. In fact, when I look at all areas of my life, I realize that the experience itself is largely impacted more by who I am with, rather than where I am at.

I wasn’t ready to kiss the ground when we finally docked the boat…but I can see why people use that phrase.

Slickrock Adventures runs a top notch production down there in Belize. Not only did they give us the option to get off the island early if we needed to, they also provided us a tour of Lamanai Mayan Ruins the next day as part of our week and an amazing tour guide to share the story of the Ruins.

The flight home was a breeze on Sunday, I have recently learned to actually sleep on the plane and so I felt rested, rejuvenated and ready to take on my week back at Cafe of LIFE, my chiropractic office.

I live an amazingly blessed life and I feel fortunate to be able to take trips to places like beautiful Belize. I love my reality and am usually looking forward to returning to it, however, leaving Long Caye to come home, I have to say I thought about how amazing it would be to be able to call that everyday life. We only get one chance in this lifetime. Make sure you are where you want to be, doing what you want to do, or at least take breaks from your reality to have some awesome experiences. Life is really, really, really good.