“No more blissful vacation than our own”
In VOLZIN, magazine for meaning and society, I was allowed to contribute ideas on “The ultimate vacation feeling. Hereby:
‘By God alone my soul stills, from Him comes my deliverance,’ poetry psalm 62.
Liberation from what? Of our addiction to what I like to call “misunderstanding I”: the sum of feelings, thoughts and physical sensations with which we identify.
But as I write you this, I realize: this is where a lot of readers drop out. The habit of letting who we are be defined by what we think and feel is like armor. Any notion that questions that, kills it. We are so busy with everything and everyone, the vacations included, that we are not even open to the ultimate vacation feeling. However unconsciously, in advance we already have an image of it, which by definition reduces “ultimate” to limited; to ón our representation of it.
comply. “Nothing on my mind. ‘Time to read’. ‘Sea view’. Don’t be difficult, just write. About seven minutes long. And while doing so, keep your pen moving. Does nothing come up? Write that down in so many words. Or jot down memories of successful or just terrible vacations.
Then put down your pen and relax. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth and become aware of what is happening in your body. Again, seven minutes.
Now stick your notes on the wall, stand in front of them, and recite them out loud. As if forming a meaningful poem. And again and again. Again, seven minutes long. And as soon as you begin to experience a change in the felt value of what you’re reciting, as if it’s getting a little farther away from you, you take a step back; physically distance yourself from it more as well.
In this way, it can gradually come to you: what I read and who I am are two. With which the suitcase for your ultimate vacation is packed. No more blissful vacation than that of our supposed selves.”
