Home After Vacation Away – Part 2

The Tiled Steps 

You see everything with amazing clarity.  Alexandra Stoddard

I close my eyes in meditation this morning and I see that view. And my heart dances.  – Journal, September 26, 2013, Oakland, CA

 

Once again, my fellow flaneuse, Ann Cromey, and I struck gold right in our home town. We had both read about these tiled steps, located on 16^th and Moraga, deep in the Inner Sunset of San Francisco. We had been waiting to see these steps all summer but we both had vacations to get out of the way first. (Vacations away, that is!)

The 16^th Street tiled steps project was a neighborhood effort to create 163 mosaic panels, completed in August, 2005. (8 years ago and I never even knew they were there.) Artists Aileen Barr and Collette Crutcher were joined by over 500 fellow tile creators and sponsors with the support of Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood Association and the San Francisco Parks Trust. What a vision come true - these steps are glorious!

www.tiledsteps.org

I am still a bit, (a lot) I-Phone map challenged, so while I fiddled with MapQuest, Google Maps and Waze, the good Ann drove us there; navigating through the maze of streets and neighborhoods, all the way from the Bart at 16^th and Mission to the foggy Inner Sunset. By the time I had finally gotten the nice lady at Waze to talk to us, she had already spotted the steps. Driving through the neighborhood, you would never know such an unexpected jewel would be located in between the quiet houses.

 

They were every bit as magnificent as promised by the Chronicle. After surveying the whole of them soaring up to seeming eternity, we slowly made our way up, studying each fish-filled, flower decorated tile. There was even a tile for Crepevine, one of my favorite restaurants in the East Bay! Arizmendi, cooperative bakery, too! How cool is that?!?

 

About half way up Ann pointed silently to three women dressed as colorfully as the tiles; full long skirts, emblazoned with fiery flowers in oranges, reds and electric blues; one of them even sported a orange hoodie on top of her skirt! It turns out they were from India, a proud family visiting their daughter finishing her first year at Stanford. (Ann is very good at striking up conversations and getting this type of information.)

We ambled up a few more flights and then settled in the middle, tucked to one side, with our lunches (the same ones described in an earlier posting) and talked and talked as we ate and surveyed the glorious view. The view encircled us fully, held all of us on those steps in our humanity, lifted us to the heavens and will forever be imprinted in our consciousness, sustaining us through the week.

Friends, go find a view! Take a drive up to Skyline in the Oakland Hills one day after work this week, go sit by the tiered pools at Joaquin Miller, or go to the top of the Drake Hotel in Union Square and have a drink in the Starlight Room this weekend.

We need that wide-open, spacious perspective. Dear God, bring us out into a broad place! (Psalm 18:19)

 

 

Home After Vacation Away – Part 1

Open your front door and freshly rediscover your home. 

Alexandra Stoddard

 

I know that a lot of us are back from our summer vacations. I know that we looked forward to our vacations as a time to have fun, to recharge, and to rekindle our hope and light. So did it work? How are we feeling now that we’re back home?

We all put a lot of hope and expectation on those two weeks. But two weeks is just not enough! How can we use the travel we’ve done as a resource when we get back home?   

I declare that we don’t have to load all of our vacation in one big bite! We can spread it throughout the year into several “nano-vacations”. We can recreate that state of mind in even the most frantically busy lives. 

I also declare that we can have these lighthearted, spontaneous feelings without spending a lot of money. We all yearn for that joyful feeling of living in the moment, carefree and at ease. Isn’t that the true spirit of vacation? 

I’d like to write a series of posts, dedicated to re-entering our lives after vacation. First of all, I think it’s really important to re-enter slowly and sweetly, savoring our memories and refusing to rush. Give yourself at least two days back at home before going back to work. The first day is for all of the home caring chores; unpacking, laundry, sorting through mail, returning calls, watering the plants, food shopping and re-stocking the refrigerator.  

The second day is for more vacation! Vacation at home. Splurge on a fancy brunch and/or go out for dinner at your favorite restaurant. Read. Read. Then read some more. Go through your pictures. Lay around. Pet the cats. Sink into a hot bath, put on a pair of pretty silk pajamas and the new earrings you bought on vacation and watch a juicy movie. (Please substitute the guy equivalent). 

One of our favorite post-vacation activities is to spread out all of the “loot” we collected; mostly small inexpensive localized things that remind us of the magical place we have just been.  We set out the plethora of postcards, small booklets from museums, colorful scarves, lotions, candles, t-shirts, a few carefully chosen new outfits, small gifts and jewelry by the fireplace where I can see it from my meditation perch.  We leave it all there for at least a couple of weeks.  It is a delightful reminder of our trip, displayed front and center in our living room. 

 

 

 

We like to splurge on one luxury item to remind us of our fabulous time away. We each bought smashing leather jackets on one of the Paris trips. This last time we bought a sumptuous velvet bedspread with silk lining and an exquisite matching pillow, complete with pearls and tassels (the cats love!). We remember our magical time in France every time we walk into the bedroom and see it laid out, resplendent, on our four poster bed. We started the tradition with a crisp, cotton duvet cover found in new Zealand on our honeymoon that we have enjoyed for seventeen years. 

 

We spend at least two days before going back to work, enveloped by the beauty and safety of our home, cuddling with our kitties. Our home is better than a luxury bed and breakfast, perched high above the city in our sweet little nest.  

The palpable comfort of being cradled by God and her angels at home is perhaps one of the sweetest times in life, especially after being in a faraway place. Hopefully everything in our homes represents a part of ourselves. If not, this is a good place to start improving our lives. Our home is an outward essence of who we are. Let us re-embrace it with deep joy.

 

 

Qualities of Your Summer Vacation

(And the Book Proposal)

 

I’m still obsessing over the title.

I’m praying for a title.

I’m desperate for a title!

 

• Vacation at Home – Cultivating the Delight in the Everyday (I’m not feelin’ it)
• Vacation-Spirit – How To Be Happy Where You Live
• Vacation-Spirit – Having the Time of Your Life in Your Own City (thank you, Joan!)
• The Soul of Leisure
• The Spirit of Vacation
• Spirit’s Call to Freedom – Vacation 365 Days a Year
• Take Your Spirit on Vacation 365 Days a Year
• Less Stuff – More Joy – Delight in the Everyday (thank you, Rob!)
• Hidden Adventures – Right Under Your Nose (thank you, Charlie!)
• Urban Happiness
• Everyday Riches (thank you, Rob!)
• A Playful Spirit (thank you, Karen!)
• Designing a Life
• Designing a Happy Life
• Designing a Happy Life on Vacation

ARRGHHH!!! 

I’m going mad! I have to think about something else!  

So I decided to start a list on what is it exactly about a good vacation that makes us so happy? What is it about being away that gives us a new perspective? What is that magical shift when you come home, and everything is different - you’re different, (even if for a little while)? For those of us leaning toward the spiritual, how does vacation connect you with your Spirit? Where is God in your time off? 

Here are some of my ideas on these common threads of a good vacation:  

• Time, gloriously unhurried time. No errands, obligations. You look forward to the whole day. Everything you have to do today is fun. You have time to get ready, time to wander, time to explore, and time to eat, to really dine, and laugh and tell stories. 

• You are somewhere new. Your spirit is stimulated. You feel a sense of adventure. You are immersed in a different geography, a different culture. You are in a city you’ve always wanted to see. You explore. You don’t know anyone. Everything is new, fresh, undiscovered. There is exhilaration in that. You are lifted out of the sameness. 

• You feel lighthearted, playful, and spontaneous. Why not try it?!? You are open to new things. Your brain is deliciously empty. You are not planning the next obligation, or racing toward the next thing in your day. You are free, really free from the mental clutter. The day opens up before you in all its glory. 

 

• Maybe you accomplish a long-held goal; you climb a mountain, you run a marathon; you walk across the country, you do something you never thought you could do.

 

• You are surrounded by plushness and beauty. Your hotel room is luxurious. The view is stunning. The sheets are cool and the comforter is sumptuous. The food is delicious and healthy and perfectly seasoned. Best of all, it is made for you! All you have to do is walk downstairs.

• You rest! You take delicious naps in the afternoon. You make love. You have time to languor. You read. And you read. Then you read some more. You have a stack of books; novels, mysteries, spiritual, non-fiction, essays, biographies and your journal, all stacked by the bed (or the beach bag). 

• You shop! You have time to shop. You wander through shops that are new to you, fresh, undiscovered. You have time to try things on you don’t normally wear and really have fun with it. You try new stuff; leggings, lace camisoles, scarves and funky shoes. You are adventurous with your look. You try a new haircut. You get your nails done. You get a massage. You luxuriate in a spa afternoon. You read by the pool. 

• You connect with people. You feel closer with your partner. It’s so nice to both be in a good mood! You’re extra nice to one another. You laugh together. You eat together three times a day. You spend precious time together. You share the wonder. If you travel alone, you strike up conversations. You spontaneously meet people. You make new friends. You talk about interesting, stimulating things with complete strangers. You learn something that stays with you long after you return home. You are changed by it. 

• You let go of structure. The power of planning has set you free. Now is the time to spontaneously enjoy this new place, unfettered by the need to make decisions and choices. You follow your nose. You relax even when it doesn’t go your way, (especially when it doesn’t go your way!) You are out of your element and you know it. You practice patience. You release. You give up control. You let yourself be surprised. It feels delicious, delightful - sometimes these are the best parts of the whole vacation. You become aware there is something larger operating here, much larger than you. You connect with it. The power of it is exhilarating. 

• After a couple of days, (weeks?), you finally get relaxed enough to start feeling hopeful about your life back home. You think excitedly about the changes you’re going to make, you talk about your future at dinner, you make long range plans, you find your direction. Something shifts deep inside of you. Everything is different. You are different.  

Now I ask you: Why can’t we do all this at home? I bet a lot of you are just getting back from your summer vacation. I would love to hear your ideas about the qualities of vacation that make you happy. (And while you’re at it, please help me with the title, too.) 

Signing off,

Vacation Girl