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| My favorite non-conformists. |
"It is fun to have fun but you have to know how." --The Cat in the Hat
When I was at Berkeley I took a deCal (extracurricular course) called "Finding Your Vocation," taught by a Dave Evans, whom I now see is at Stanford (almost typed something different but then thought better of it, Alex). We were provided a lot of interesting readings but the thing I have not forgotten is from the first day when everyone went around and shared why they signed up for the class. No joke, after half the group had shared, one girl said, "Oh my gosh. I thought this class was called 'Finding your vacation.'" The collective embarrassment felt in the room for her was visceral.
Today, however, I am starting to see the convergence between vocation/vacation.
Super convoluted but here goes: The process of decluttering our home ala KonMari precipitated a ruthless examination of my life/mind/spirit/psyche. Every segment we did was really dreadful but then at the end we could stand back and feel so happy. Now that we've completed a significant amount, I look at different sections of our house that have been Konmari'd, feel giddy, and think, "This is our vacation home." (David, I was tempted to insert a parenthetical "becoming." Lolz.)
The paradigm shift for me was "Why can't our home be our vacation home?" When I think about vacation, the aspect I love most about it is not sightseeing or going out and doing things, but lounging around with nothing to do and without many of my possessions around me, save for the things needed to cook a yummy meal, and maybe a book or two.
In The Art of Non-Conformity (I'm on the last hour of the audiobook now), Guillebeau also suggests the exercise of writing out what your ideal day would look like. I need to do that soon and figure out how to bring alignment between my current reality and my ideal reality. It is probably going to involve figuring out how I can go swimming more often. (Christine, why aren't we neighbors?)
I think I've been waiting for my vocation to drop in my lap from the sky; now I'm beginning to realize that perhaps I can take the bull by the horns and create/curate my life/home into my vocation/vacation.
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This recent joy of creativity has been a life saver for me. After a long season of feeling socially, mentally, and spiritually dry, I'm tucking "creativity" away as a tool I need to remember when I'm feeling stuck. I love the phrase "your childhood solutions become your adult problems" (HT: Carol Johnston of First Pres Berkeley Stephen Ministry fame). I think what it's saying to me now is that there's a good and valid reason why we may do things for a long spell or season. But when it stops working, you can move on and figure out something else. My old ways of seeing and knowing God and understanding the world, and the church, and so many other things? Just because they aren't working doesn't mean God isn't there. (Ohhhhhhhh I'm getting to that deep stuff. And I'm gonna stop here before I cry. #toolate What a friggin' long grieving process this is.)
If I remove the scaffolding of fears I have set up for myself, will faith be there to catch me?
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So tell me, what is your ideal vocation/vacation?
Oh Lisa, I am loving everything you are writing so much! I love when a vacation gives me a sense of peace, contentment, and relaxation. It's usually accompanied with being disconnected from my usual stresses and being able to focus on the here and now. It's a feeling I sometimes get on slow Saturday mornings when I sit in our sun room with coffee, a book, and a puppy/baby. I like what you have to say about your home becoming your vacation home, which makes me think of having that "feeling" all the time. I'd be curious to know if you think having kids has impacted your approach or drive to declutter and refocus. So far in this season of parenting, I'm finding that while I love this kid so much, he's very time consuming and distracting.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try that exercise of writing out my ideal day...
ReplyDeleteAnd yes come over anytime ! ;)
DeleteLoved this. I've always found decluttering to be very satisfying, but much harder with a little person running around. While this may be slightly off-topic, your post reminded me of this quote: "Vacations are meant to be new, they are meant to be fun, but they are not meant to be better than your normal life...Life isn't about the 50 vacations you'll take while you're on this planet. It's about the 25,000 days between them. Stop creating a life that you need a vacation from. Instead, move to where you want to live, do what you want to do, start what you want to start, and create the life you want today..." I'd say that quote is not always 100% possible, but I do believe that we are made to enjoy the life God gives us, not always want a break from it! Love that you are making that a reality for your family.
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