Life is in its full swing here. With school and work, and all the commitments of appointments and events and looming deadlines. 

And that is a great thing.

A vacation or time away is a very welcome change. We are excited for it. We enjoy the time away making memories and getting a break from the mundane. But then, we are back. And catching up with normal life seems like the hardest thing- between unpacking, resting out the jet lag, filling up our homes with groceries again, being back on the treadmill of everyday life and weekly commitments.

The catching up seems like a mammoth task, which may make going to vacation seem pointless. But of course, its not. The benefits and joy of going away with loved ones, having new experiences together, being off the clock and everyday scenes and obligations is so refreshing to our minds and souls, that all the hard catching up after seems worth it in the end.

And then we are truly back in life. That little break in life to enjoy new places and foods and ways of living is like a spark. Being back into normal life doesn’t seem exactly the same as before. There is a tiny little shift in things. The shift is minuscule, but noticeable. That’s because we are different people. Made different by our intense experience of being in a different place and time. Of meeting people who’s ways of going through life show us other possibilities that we did not anticipate so far in life. The spark of this newness opens horizons of possibilities and ideas in our heads. And we are our old selves with a new added bit- a bit that came from the experience of travel. And our entire beings are just a little bit changed. Which means our way of looking at life and moving through life is a little bit different from before.

And that is mostly a great thing, I think. We don’t want to get stagnant in our humanness. We want to grow and change. We want to find new possibilities and ideas to make things for us and our communities better. And new possibilities lie not only in travel, but maybe in meeting someone interesting, or taking a class to learn a new skill, or reading a book that blows our mind etc. Anything really.

I feel like I have found this little shift in my life from coming back from Paris. In fact I feel it every time I go on a trip. Even a simple trip like camping seems to affect me. It’s very hard to describe what these little shifts are about. It would be too simplistic of me to say, “I have learnt to be a bit more relaxed after seeing the Parisian society having a good time even on a Monday night.” It never is clear cut like that. But we know that something somewhere deep down feels uplifted, and inspired, and ready to take on new challenges that excite you. We know, because of the refreshing break, that you have more energy and enthusiasm. That life is not a drudgery anymore. That a lot of possibilities lie ahead. And some that we cannot even dream of right now. 

And all of this makes going through the mundane life all over again, not so mundane any more. I am definitely feeling that way, and welcoming the week ahead this Monday morning. 

With all its drudgery and challenges ahead. 

To do some good work.

With Monday Grace of course.