That vacation may never come

How a photo reminded me to find bliss where I'm at

I’ve been feeling tired lately. All is well. Nothing out of the ordinary. It’s just that the grind has been more noticeable in my low energy, aching body, and a mind frequently daydreaming of the next vacation. Where in the world could I escape to? Just for a day or two. Surely then I will feel better.

You’ve been here before, haven’t you?

Like so many vacations I’ve taken in the past, the fact remains that when I finally take the trip I’m stuck there with the same problem: Me

“Are you amazed to find that even with such extensive travel, to so many varied locales, you have not managed to shake off gloom and heaviness from your mind? As if that were a new experience! You must change the mind, not the venue.” - Seneca, Letters to Lucillius XXVIII.1

Perspective is everything.

Yesterday my daughter returned home from a trip to California with her grandfather. As usual, she came home with some photography from her journey. This time to San Diego and Joshua Tree National Park.

One of the photos she took shocked me. Especially when I learned how it came to be.

It’s stunning, isn’t it?

The whiskers on the stem, the way the light strikes the reddish pink petals. Its outer edges shine, almost glowing. Scanning through her photo collection, I had to pause and take this one in. It is beautiful. Even the Black Ford SUV rolling by in the background.

Yeah, the backdrop is a black SUV. I don’t know how she framed this shot exactly, but what I’m told is she took a dozen other photos before the car pulled up. None of them worked. The sky was too bright, or the clouds were offsetting the lighting. Then comes a car, which she assumed was yet another wrecked photo.

Exactly the opposite. The car reframed everything. The ultimate obstruction to the shot transformed it into a stunning expose of the flower’s beauty. Which reminds me….

Remember the opening scene of The Gladiator? Russell Crowe is standing somewhere, listening to the wind blow and staring off into the distance. The framing of the shot is tight. We don’t know where he is.

Maximus turns his head to this bird. Smiles. Watches it fly off. He has a moment of bliss.

Maximus has a moment of bliss observing this bird. He found his center, just for a passing second. Then he returns to where he is at in the moment. A warzone and desolated battlefield. The frame expands.

In the quote at the top of the piece, you Seneca speaking to his friend Lucillius, by way of a letter. Seneca reminds his friend that travel and vacations mean nothing if you carry your chaos there with you.

Fix the mind. Not the venue. Find quiet, bliss, rest, and contentment wherever you are. Prayer. Meditation. Lifting weights. Target shooting. Yoga. Why wait until the expensive vacation to be still? That trip may never come.

Change your perspective.

This is the way.