Vacation-time: A period of rest and contemplation

THE August holidays are soon upon us. Surprisingly, whenever I hear the word vacation, all I could think of is rest. Whether it’s August, Christmas, Easter or else, we all must take time to rest. Vacation is a time when schools are closed and children and teachers go home to rest. It is a time when workers leave their jobs and travel around the country or the world to view the various sceneries and to take some well-earned respite. It is a time when others even stay at home and rest. Whatever we do, we take time off from our busy schedules to rest and enjoy our vacation in all its fullness.
As I ponder on that word, the following excerpt, taken from “My Family and Other Animals” (by Gerald Durrell) comes readily to mind. For me, it’s akin to resting in the winter:
“Winter came gently as a rule.  The sky was still clear, the sea blue and calm, and the sun warm.  But there would be an uncertainty in the air.  Gold and scarlet leaves that littered the countryside in great drifts whispered and chuckled among themselves, or took experimental runs from place to place, rolling like coloured hoops among the trees.
“It was as if they were practising for something; preparing for something; and they would discuss it excitedly in rusty voices as they crowded round the tree trunks. The birds, too, congregated in little groups, puffing out their feathers, twittering thoughtfully.
“The whole air was one of expectancy, like a vast audience waiting for the curtain to go up. Then, one morning, they threw back the shutters and looked down over the olive trees across the blue bay to the russet mountains of the mainland and became aware that winter had arrived, for each mountain peak would be wearing a tattered skullcap of snow.  Now, the air of expectancy grew almost hourly.
“In few days, small white clouds started their winter parade, trooping across the sky, soft and chubby, long; and driving them before it like an ill-assorted flock of sheep would come the wind.  This was warm at first, and came in gentle gusts, rubbing through the olive groves so that the leaves trembled and turned silver with excitement, rocking the cypresses so that they undulated gently, and stirring the dead leaves into gay, swirling little dances that died as suddenly as they began.  Playfully, it ruffled the feathers on the sparrow’s backs, so that they shuddered and fluffed themselves; and it leapt without warning at the gulls, so that they were stopped in mid-air and had to curve their white wings against it.
“Shutters started to bang, and door chattered suddenly in their frames, but still the sun shone, the sea remained placid, and the mountains sat complacently, summer bronzed, wearing their splintered snow hats.
“For a week or so, the wind played with the island, patting it, humming to itself among the bare branches.  There was a lull, a few days’ strange calm; suddenly, when you least expected, the wind would be back.  But it was a changed wind, a mad, hooting, bellowing wind that leapt down on the island and tried to blow it into the sea…”
I have discovered that there is beauty all around us, and things that we never take notice of; but, believe me, this world would be a much better place, and our lives far more enriched if we only make the time to take notice of our environment.
Everyone should more or less have a desire to attain those rare and beautiful heights, where the air is pure and stimulating, and the vision is one of dazzling beauty on which we can rest.
I vacationed at the Kaieteur Falls one summer, and experienced its breathtaking single-drop of 741 feet. The mere location in the dense Amazonian jungle, and the magnificent array of flora and fauna brought rest and that peace which passes all human understanding.
The airplane took off, and as I looked through my window, I could see the blue skies covering it, the white clouds enveloping it, and the sun shedding light on its wings as it coursed through the gentle breezes to its destination.
I sat there in peace, and rested as all thoughts of the outer world ceased. I felt as though I was sitting in a chariot, but riding amidst the clouds. Suddenly, I exclaimed, “Somebody is responsible for this!” And as if she heard me, the passenger sitting next to me pointed to the heavens. I was immediately reminded of these verses of scripture:

Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, Thou are very great;
Thou are clothed with splendour and majesty,
Covering thyself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching our heaven like a tent curtain,
He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters
He makes the clouds His chariot
He walks upon the wings of the wind
He makes the winds His messengers… (Ps.104; 1-4)

I disembarked, and the tour guide took over.  By now, we were in the jungle, but we were at peace. And we found rest even as he assured us that the ferocious beasts of the fields will not harm us.  They sleep during the day and prowl at night only. And I continued my meditation:
The high mountains are for the rock badgers
He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the place of its setting.
Thou dost appoint darkness and it becomes night
In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.
The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God.
When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their dens
Man goes forth to his work
And to his labour until evening (Ps.104: 18-23).

As my tour came to an end, I drew water from the springs of life, and contemplated on the wonders before me:
He sends forth springs in the valleys,
They flow between the mountains,
They give drink to every beast of the field.
The wild donkeys quench their thirst,
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell,
They lift up their voices among the branches.
He waters the mountains from His upper chambers,
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works (Ps. 104:10-13).

Do you not know that your mind is your most valuable asset, and that it controls your body; and that when you rest it is renewed? Do you not know you’re a living energy transmitter!
Every day you are transmitting energy that affects the atmosphere around you. The energy you generate creates a gravity field like that of a planet.
What is orbiting in your force field? I am sure if you knew, you would be unmindful of the negative things that others say about you, and enjoy the positive vibes you are receiving from the elements around you.
So, rest up! Tap into that divine energy at work in you, and enjoy your summer vacation!

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