Unplug and Reboot

 What does this really look like?

Simply living. Each moment, one day at a time (even if it’s only for a few days). No personal trainer or yoga coach required. No guru. Just the sand and the sea. Perhaps mountain and valley landscapes. Colourful canyons and fresh-water lakes are incredible too. The salt sea-water cleanse (no thick green smoothies please).

Indulging in scrumptious dinners, revitalizing drinks (happy hour) and decadent desserts, without counting calories, checking food labels or measuring grams of unwanted ingredients and additives. Best of all: leave the guilt at the customs checkpoint.

Possibly, the toughest decision of the day: mojito or daiquiri?! Why fret, one of each please. In the tropical islands, it seems every hour is happy hour. Here’s another big decision: music or book? There’s nothing quite like losing yourself in a riveting story or mesmerizing song. Or both.

Lounge. Walk. Swim. Eat. Drink. Nap. Repeat.

My ultimate beach vacation includes mindless strolling along the scenic beach: people-watching, enjoying the sun, warm sand, and the spray of waves. I don’t need the motorized sports; I’m content with a kayak or paddle board. Honestly, I like to just sit back, relax and chill out. Chillax.

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The unplugged part is actually tricky because most recently it seems everywhere I travel has Wi-Fi access. Possibly, I need to travel to more remote destinations. Note to self: search for some “under the radar” pristine vacation spots. In the meantime, I must recalibrate. No work emails allowed (realistically, I do not provide an urgently essential service). Minimal world news ‒ (it’s always disturbing). Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are permitted in limited dosages. For better or worse, it seems, the permissible quantities are steadily increasing. Keeping in touch with family and friends by sharing photos in real-time is our new vacation reality. Here is where we are staying. This is what we are doing. Most importantly it seems, this is what we are eating. This photographic exchange actually requires some photo editing, including colour enhancement and perhaps filters so that our pictures are sufficiently bright and beautiful. Perhaps, intended to be the envy of everyone at home.

Some of my friends and family are keenly familiar with my favourite beach vacation position. Classic Liz-on-vacation look. I nonchalantly drag my lounge chair to the water’s edge into a quiet nook along the sandy beach. Here my body is magically suspended between the sea, the shore, and the sky. And from this magnificent vantage point my body is grounded and my mind is adrift. On one side I feel the crash of the waves, on the opposite side I feel the pull of the tide; my body is slightly submerged in the salt water and my face is refreshed by the by the warm breeze. Perhaps this is heaven on earth.

Actually, there is another typical series of Liz-on-vacations photos, definitely known to my friends and family. The classic yoga pose. My basic repertoire includes: Warrior Pose, Lord of the Dance Pose and Tree Pose. For anyone who finds these redundant, I am sorry ‒ please unfriend me. I have mastered a few others (excluding all advanced level poses) but I don’t think they are well-suited for social media, hence the repetitive posts.

Occasionally, when the (silly) mood strikes me, I produce some brief vacation vignette videos. These outrageous clips are reserved for my kids and generally sent simply to get a laugh. Definitely not worthy of social media.

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All good things come to an end. Departure time is almost here. Dust off the soft grains of sand stuck between my toes and rinse the dried salt and sunscreen from my face. We pack our tacky souvenirs and added vacation memories; we gather our luggage and with mixed feelings we board the plane along with the other freshly tanned tourists. As the charter jet speeds down the runway my mind automatically returns to my present life. “Passengers: you may resume use of your cellular devices” Home-sweet-home. The mini-escape is over; until the next time we unplug and reboot. An immeasurable luxury to behold.

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