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Coming Home To a New Awareness

Wynne and I, with our three young adult daughters in tow,  just took the longest vacation of my life – 22 amazing days!  About halfway through, I realized these kinds of trips are just as much about going places as they are about leaving your day-to-day world behind and freeing up space in your head to make new discoveries.

It was an epic journey through Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro. On paper it was meticulously planned out… flight times, hotel bookings, tour guides, distances between points of interest and so on. But once we were there, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, I was able to slow down and just experience life with a quiet mind. Our family became attuned to new tastes and flavors. We noted all the subtle differences in things compared to “back home”. We delighted in interactions with people not just to get information but to learn about them – observing our differences and the things we had in common. It made me realize that so much of our lives are spent rushing to get things done and we often forget to enjoy the moments.

It’s ironic that by traveling thousands of miles we could more clearly see what was already inside us. It was as though it took physical travel for us to experience internal enlightenment.

In addition to the sights and experiences of this amazing part of the world, Wynne and I relished the chance to witness our children as confident, independent adults. In the unfamiliar and interesting new places we went, often it was them taking the lead and looking out for everyone – a parental experience that I didn’t anticipate. They chose the places to eat and selected the exotic items on the menu, they encouraged us to step off planned paths. They pushed us to go a bit farther in every direction, including down.  (scan to see Ron’s leap of faith).

All three of our kids said, “this was the best vacation ever.” That’s a memory that I’ll always have in my mind, but honestly, it fills my heart.

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