In 2022, Mark and I took the train to Quebec City for a wee getaway. It was August. It was my birthday weekend and we stayed in deluxe accommodations. It was glorious. Food! Art! History! Wandering! And ohhh, the stairs. So many stairs! Why is old Quebec City so hilly??? [Answer: because it is built upon Cap Diamond (Cap-Diamant), a dramatic natural promontory and sheer cliff face overlooking a narrow point of the St. Lawrence River.]
I am sure we burned as many calories as we ate.
At one point during this trip we found ourselves at a cafe in a pedestrian square in old Quebec called the Café La Maison Smith Notre-Dame. We sat and enjoyed a slow recaffination with a pretty view.
Maybe I just really needed the boost but the coffee was delicious and I felt my batteries charging up as we sat there.
And perhaps this was a strange thought to have while enjoying a special moment, but as much as I was enjoying this excellent coffee, I found myself thinking about the fact that I also have excellent coffee at home.
Logically, there were a few reasons why THIS coffee seemed better than usual: I was (a) with Mark (b) on a nice holiday (c) feeling happy (d) enjoying the view (e) relieved to be resting my weary legs (f) grateful for the privilege of being able to travel.
Clearly, there was a lot zooming around in my brain contributing to My General State of Being, not just the coffee, although coffee seemed to be the centre of my universe at the moment.
In hindsight I realize that what had happened was that I created a new mindset for myself. This vacation mindset can absolutely be transferred into non-holiday moments. In fact, you can do it anywhere, anytime. And I do, and now it’s become my mantra: Vacay Every Day.
Tiny vacation-type feelings aren’t hard to find in everyday moments. All you need to do is fully focus on whatever pleasant thing that is happening. Really engage your senses. Is a pretty view? Sink into it. Is it a flavour? Really savour it.
ie.“This coffee, it’s vacation-level good.”
And don’t just think it, say it out loud. I think it makes it more effective somehow. Perhaps there’s a different part of the brain that processes and files away what it hears, making sure it takes root instead of floating away.
At its core, this practice is really about recognizing good things and expressing gratitude. It just brings pleasant holiday vibes into ordinary, everyday life in a slightly different way.
Sidebar: The brain is a powerful thing. We are more likely to dwell on bad and sad things than good things, but we can control our thoughts. When we veer off trail, we can course correct. This is not to say that we should live in a state of blind happiness and ignore everything else, no. Bad things still need to be processed and figured out, but we don’t need to needlessly ruminate on things, over and over.
I guess it all comes down to this… the more we are able to find joy in small things, the happier we will be. It’s something I’ve been working on this summer… making memories, and making them stick. Vacay every day, whether I’m actually on vacation, or not.
