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OK, I admit it - the title “Half-Hour Vacation” is a little gimicky. I mean, we all know that a three-day weekend is no decent substitute for a vacation, let alone 1/2-hour. So, then, what’s up with the title?
The name “half-hour vacation” is really a way to emphasize the short breaks we can take each day. The idea is that we can start with short breaks in our hurried, busy routine, and, in the process, come to shift our relationship with time so we can feel less guilty and more secure in taking time off for ourselves in general, whether 1/2 hour or two weeks.
But even daily 1/2-hour breaks aren’t going to help toward a long-term shift in our lifestyle unless we take them with intention and devote our full attention to whatever we end up doing during those thirty minutes. For example, if we take a half-hour break to call a friend, but end up only half-way in the conversation and the other half checking out our to-do list or folding laundry, we are cheating ourselves of the rich, here-and-now experience that we (and, in this case, our friends) really deserve.
The half-hour vacation is about more than simply escaping the routine - it’s about bringing our full attention to the time we spend. If we’re talking to a friend, and thoughts about future plans or something that happened earlier in the day “intrude” on our conversation, so be it - we notice those thoughts for a moment and then return our attention to the call. On the other hand, if we allow the conversation to be interrupted by our own actions (as opposed to thoughts, which we can’t control too well), we’re robbing ourselves of this quality time. Thus, we stop multitasking, tune in to the phone call, and allow whatever else arises (thoughts, emotions) to be a welcomed part of our “full attention” experience during the call.
How to cultivate this spirit of full attention? There are many ways, and that’s what I can help with. It often begins with what I call (and what is also somewhat “gimmicky”) the “three-minute vacation” - bringing mindful attention to whatever is going on for us during a three-minute span.
More on that later!
