You know, I’m not a scientist or nerd — but I’ve always known something that others seem to dismiss or ignore: taking a break from your routine re-sets your mind, and refreshes your spirit.
This is true regardless of how long the break is: 5 minutes, 5 hours, or 5 days.
Mill Beach Brookings OR
We enjoyed a long holiday weekend over the 4th of July, and instead of BBQ and fireworks we chilled on the beach and listened to a really awesome audiobook, one I’d read several years ago that I wanted to share with my partner.
It’s one of my all-time faves. No spoiler alerts here but bring tissues; the ending will blow your mind and make you believe in goodness again.
The book is The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein. I highly recommend it, in both paperback and audio formats.
What i love about it are the metaphors, the immediacy of the story, the narration that has the solid ring of truth about it, and. . . some indefinable magic that this story weaves. It’s all heart and all soul. Read this book! I promise you won’t regret it.
As for the rest of the trip, let yourself sink into the picture I took on the beach, and share a moment of refreshing pause with me.
Clear skies. Clear water. Clean sand. Warm sunshine.
A place to stop and breathe. Rest.
Allow yourself to just BE.
Nothing you have to do. Nowhere else you have to be.
Just here, just now.
And just like that. . . magic happens.
Cares float away.
The mind rests.
Peace washes over you and through you as you listen to the power of the waves crashing into the sand and rocks.
The warm breeze lifts burdens from you and carries them far from you.
This is YOUR time to be still. To take in the beauty around you. To breathe deeply of Life in all its glory. To KNOW yourself to be part of all this, to be one with all this.
Stay as long as you like. Come back when you want. It will be here for you, these images, these words.
And when you feel completely refreshed and restored, revitalized and at peace with yourself and the world, slowly. . . slowly.. . . let yourself return to whatever is next for you.
Embrace it with your full self, knowing that next time you can come back and repeat the process, so that your life becomes radiant with balance and power again.
I’m sharing this image and these words with you because I know how much more YOU you will be, once you take time to step away from your ordinary life and relax into something peaceful and lovely like the beach we found.
I wish this kind of joy and presence for you, as often and as abundantly as you need!
Save this post for next time you need a break. And tuck a copy of The Art of Racing In The Rain under your arm, for an experience you won’t forget.
Enjoy your summer and let me know what you think of the book!
P.S. Maybe I answered the question about why taking a break refreshes us, or maybe I didn’t. Try it out for yourself and tell me if it works for you the way it does for me. I’d love to hear how it goes.