A Mindful Vacation

I’ve spent so many family vacations living outside of the present moment.

Impatiently waiting for the next activity. But in doing that, I miss out on the richness of the day.

So, I decide that this vacation will be different. I will savor every moment.

I have evolved so much since the last time I visited Hawaii.

We came as a family in 2018, when my mental health was at a low point. I can still remember how much I was battling with anxiety. I should have been having the time of my life, but I was not doing well.

Now, it’s years later. I’ve graduated from college. I’m proud of how far I’ve come. My life looks and feels so different from how it did back then. This trip amplifies my growth.

I’m by no means perfect. I still have a lot of areas that I’d like to improve. But my life is much better now. And that is exciting.

I knew I wanted this trip to be different.

Starting by saying yes to activities. I went to the beach multiple times, and I even went in the water, which is a big deal for me.

Truthfully, I don’t feel comfortable at the beach, but I decided to join my family anyway. I decided to do something other than sit in a hotel room (my natural instinct).

As I sat quietly on the sand, I acknowledged that I made an active decision aligned with the person I want to be. I felt quite happy.

So I pulled out my phone and took a quick note to reflect on later.

I love the idea of mindfulness. But my brain makes it hard to stay in the moment. This vacation became an opportunity to practice my mindfulness skills.

I still feel glimmers of my past self at times. But I’m now able to notice my mind wandering and bring myself back to the present moment.

A huge accomplishment is that I’m enjoying reading The Last Chance Library. During that first Hawaii trip, reading was a huge challenge.

At the time, I was reading The Power of Now. But it’s hard to focus on a book when your mind is racing, and the book’s messages highlighted my personal struggles. My life felt like the opposite of what Eckhart Tolle describes in his work.

My takeaway from this trip is that I’m not yet the person I want to be, but I’m doing much better than I was in the past.

So, yay to family vacations, yay to evolving, and yay to sharing these experiences to inspire others on their personal growth journeys.