The other day I met a bear in the woods...

The other day (the other day), I met a bear (I met a bear), out in the woods (out in the woods) a way out there (a way out there)….
Anonymous

Does the concept of vacation seem different to you nowadays? Do you return from a week or two away from the office feeling less relaxed and refreshed than when you left? Do you feel like you need a vacation from your vacation? Apparently, you’re not alone.

It seems that we are becoming a society that doesn’t know how to relax. Personally, I have great difficulty just kicking back and watching the clouds roll by. I’m much more prone to try to kick, hit, shoot, and toss as many balls, Frisbees, beanbags, and horseshoes as possible while simultaneously watching, attending, visiting, and experiencing as many things as I can. Trying to relax is exhausting! You get up too early because that’s when the fish are biting, and then you stay up too late playing one more hand of Tripoley or singing one more camp song. And what is it with songs around the campfire, anyway? Is there any other time in your life that you willingly engage in singing in the round? Or, for that matter, would you ever in your right mind substitute silly hand gestures for words and phrases in mixed company without being under the influence of too many s’mores?

But I digress. Because campfire songs and food that sticks to your face for the next three days are actually verifiable signs of a summer vacation well spent, in my book. It may lead to embarrassing Facebook postings and major dental work, but it was well spent. No, what gets to me are two common trends I see (and of which I am guilty) that seem guaranteed to turn vacation time into anything but a rejuvenating experience.

The first trend is this strange need for the “power vacation”. You know the symptoms - trying to fill every minute of every day with activities and experiences. We’ve all heard the neighbor or coworker talking about how they just got back from visitingYellowstone-shootingtherapids-climbingthatmountain-seeingMountRushmore-takingcampfirecookinglessons-joiningacattledrive-etc. over the recent three-day weekend! Maybe it’s our greatly increased mobility, or our more informed world, or our early 21st century madness, but many of us have this overwhelming urge to visit every giant ball of string or two-headed calf within a tri-state area, otherwise we don’t feel as if we have really done anything on vacation. If we’re not exhausted, if we haven’t had a full sensory immersion in every waking second of our time away from the daily grind, well then we just haven’t had fun, by golly!

The other trend is the really scary one - the dreaded “working vacation.” Now this one is the result of some very real modern day curses: cell phones (or even worse, smart phones), laptop computers and wi-fi, Facebook, Twitter and all the social networks, and this weird sensation that so many of us seem to suffer from these days - namely, the fear of being disconnected. Guess what folks? If you’re sitting in the sun on the deck of a boat lazily drifting down some foreign body of water and you take just a quick glance at your iPhone to check your e-mail, YOU ARE AT WORK! If you’re gauging the wind before your tee shot on hole #3 at a golf course in some other time zone, and you hear the “ping!” of an alert from a pocket in your golf bag notifying you that there’s an update from Wall Street, YOU ARE NOT RELAXING! Finally, and most depressingly, if you’re sitting cross-legged before the grandeur of some breathtaking natural wonder, and your immediate reaction is to fire up your Blackberry and update your status on a social media site so “all my friends can share this with me,” YOU ARE NOT EVEN IN THE MOMENT!

Please excuse the preachy capitals. As I have mentioned, I am as guilty as others in both of these trends (well, maybe not the Facebook part…), but I am passing this on to you as a public service. Do as I say and not as I do. The summer is still young and there are beaches and campsites and wilderness trails and sticky s’mores galore awaiting you, so make the most of them. Dare to disconnect, strive towards solitude, and reach for rest and relaxation. Try something new - do nothing for a while. Haven’t we earned it?

Have a great week!