Surviving the Spiritual Crash after Vacation
This summer I took an amazing two-week motorcycle road trip into the mountains of Colorado. We rented a big beautiful home in Breckenridge, Colorado, (and the altitude there was no joke!)
When I got home, of course, there was getting caught up on laundry, opening mail, bills, all the routine odds and ends. I must admit, I was in the post vacation “glow”- full of memories. I find it amazing how quickly we run back to the mundane things, the well-worn paths of our life. And many times, our lives hit us like a tsunami when we return from our vacations or retreats.
The fourteen of us who traveled together agreed that we desired to have this be a “spiritual trip” - not just an ordinary vacation. So, we sat with our hand-bound leather journals, our BEING books, and our starving souls on a beautiful mountain top…hoping to well, find ourselves.
But what we discovered is that “trying to be spiritual” just doesn’t work.
Let alone trying to get 14 people all on the same page at the same time. It’s not that simple. It’s like herding cats.
When we found ourselves trying to curate a spiritual experience, it felt forced. Petty conflict would arise between us, insecurities would rise; we floundered. The journey became… well, hard.
We found that the real magic happened when we stopped trying so hard.
Instead of rushing to get to our travel destinations, we slowed down and found ourselves in the most amazing unplanned places. Instead of trying to start a group meditation, we pulled over on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere to gaze at the stars. Instead of trust-building exercises, we allowed ourselves to build trust while navigating thunderstorms and high winds. Instead of trying to hash out our past hardships, we worked through them as they arose. Instead of trying to work on building our intuition-skills, we looked for messages in the clouds (and yes, even a few rainbows). Instead of past-life regression work, we simply forgave in the moment.
Now I’m not saying that this trip was by any means perfect, but it was perfectly imperfect.
Instead of trying to make time to be spiritual, we worked to realize that we are spirits, navigating this human world to the best of our ability. And what matters most – is doing it together. Having the support from one another to push through it all and remind ourselves of who we really are.
Our awareness was this: We are spiritual beings- like it or not.
Yes, we all have to navigate through the day-to-day human things, but it doesn’t have to be hard. When we see it all as a spiritual experience, it’s no longer a struggle trying to find it, make time for it. It unfolds. There’s a flow to our lives.
So how do we survive coming back to our lives after a vacation or a spiritual retreat? How do we avoid the inevitable crash? How do we continue to stay connected with one another after spending every day with one another? How do we make sure all of our awarenesses don’t just fade away into an abyss of nothingness?
Well, truth be told it has not been easy for all of us to come back to our lives and stay connected with one another. And just like we were trying to “force being spiritual” on our trip, we came home and found ourselves still trying to force that spirituality, that momentum we had built together back into our already jam-packed lives.
So here’s a few things we’ve learned to help with the transition and to keep the momentum going:
Slow down. I think it starts with remembering to slow down, look for the details all around you. Look for the divine design in your everyday life. Give yourself the extra moments you gave yourself on vacation to pause, to look up at the clouds. Don’t run back to work right away, take an extra day or two off when you return to give yourself time to acclimate.
Honor your everyday life the same as your vacations. If you’re anything like me on vacation you’re constantly taking pictures and journaling your experiences. Maybe you even make a scrapbook to help you remember your adventures. So why don’t we honor our everyday lives the same way? Take photos, write down your experiences, journal your awarenesses. Give your whole life the same attention and honor that you give your vacations.
Remember, vacations can’t be an escape from your life- they’re just another chapter. You go with you no matter where you are. When vacations become the thing we run to avoid our lives, we will always be looking for our next escape. Instead, try to view it as the next chapter in your book, something you can take with you.
Start saving and planning for your next trip… NOW! If you’re like most of us, you probably spent over your budget on your trip, or had to scramble to get enough money together before leaving. So why not start setting aside money right now for your next one? The more you can set aside ahead of time, the less difficult it will be to plan your trip and return it. Be proactive! Come up with creative ways to earn some extra money and find a way to set it aside where you won’t be allowed to touch it.
Continue to connect with each other. Vacations can be a coveted time to spend with loved ones and friends, but what do we do in our everyday lives to help keep those relationships alive? Do we continue to have genuine face-to-face conversations with each other on a regular basis, or are we back to texting each other? It’s important to continue to connect with the people in your life all the time- not just on vacations.
The truth is, we shouldn’t have to give ourselves permission to do the things we love to do, and we don’t need an excuse to take a day off. Remember, amazing things happen every day when we slow down and get out of our own way.
Sometimes feeling connected can be as simple as just stopping and looking at the birds or pausing long enough to feel the breeze.
Love & Light,
Soulaire
P.S. Here was our view. I'm so incredibly grateful for being able to live on this beautiful planet. This was the view out of our living room window for the past two weeks.
It was like waking up in a postcard.
P.P.S. What’s the next trip you’d like to go on? I’d love to hear what you have in your sights :)
