Getting Away

Jerry, of Tom and Jerry fame, is a modern master of vacation hedonism.

When we weary of the day-in, day-out monotony of life, we daydream of being in another place. This other place is nothing like the place where we are—the weather is perfect, the people are happy, the lifestyle is leisurely and carefree. It's a place where the day's activities are defined by choice, rather than by obligation. Where the drinks are fruity and aromatic and garnished with a flower. Where the locals sit under cafe verandas and wander to the beach in the evening to watch the sunset. Where every house exudes the seductive appeal of a simpler life and the stone-paved streets resound with the rhythm of a quaint, rustic charm.

"I need a change of scenery." "I need to take some time away to recharge." "I need to get out of here for a while." "I need some inspiration in my life." We'll say something, anything, to put a pause on it all and run away for a few days, weeks, maybe a month or two if we took some unpaid time off? We could survive on a bare-bones budget for a while to save up, or make some extra cash on the side, it wouldn't be too hard. Even just a week or two, a few thousand for the flight and the hotels and food and some spending money on the side for when we find something we really like...and gifts for friends and family of course, and if we use the credit card we'll get points back on every purchase...it'll be worthwhile to get away even for a little while.

And the idea rolls around for a while and then suddenly the impetus comes to make it reality and we pull the trigger and buy the plane tickets and book the hotels and request the time off and plan the itinerary and finally it's time to go, so we pack up and leave for the airport and get on the plane and endure the flight and land at the airport and collect the baggage and head into the city and and we're finally, finally there, and there becomes here, and the air smells fresh and and the people look happy and the fruity drink that we ordered really has a flower in it and it feels so good to be away for a change in another world. Heck, maybe we'll even discover something here that breathes new color into our life back home. The tantalizing prospect of new perspective peeks its head around vacation's corner. Could this romantic, idyllic place far from home hold some secret local knowledge about how to live that we simply haven't had the chance to discover yet? Could the relaxation and calm of a vacation getaway outlive its scheduled boundaries? Can a temporary change of pace metamorphose into an enduring vision for life? Our heads swim with the charged energy of vacation's optimism.

And after seeing the famous museums and the beautiful architecture and the bustling markets and trying the local foods and saying hello and goodbye and please in the local language and soaking up every last drop of enjoyment we can squeeze out of this place so seemingly outside of time, it's nearing that dreaded hour to go back home, and it went by so quickly too...In the darkening evening we think, "It must be nice to live here," sighing a sigh laden with the weight of our many responsibilities back home. Could we actually live here? It would be so nice to continue like this...though we'll need to really learn the language...And traveling back home for holidays would be a challenge, not to mention expensive...We wouldn't have any friends around, unless they visited, but how often would that be, really?...Would I get lonely here on my own...? It's all so close, yet so far. The logistics pile up like sandbags and with some eagerness and some hesitation we mentally retreat back to vacation's here and now. "Best to just enjoy it while it lasts and get the most out of this trip." Reflecting, we assure ourselves, "Next time, when we come back, we'll make sure to..." noting all the activities and places that we couldn't manage to wrestle into our busy vacation schedule.

Arriving home, we soon settle back into the familiar rhythm of our established lives. Why does this life, which we appreciate to be a more fortunate life than many others in the world are born into, at times become so grey and flavorless that we feel the pull of a temporary escape? Desire, guilt, hope, and despair form an intimate tangle in the emotional nucleus of the modern-day vacation getaway. This is a unique phenomenon within the broader psychology of landscapes that interests me a great deal, as I believe our relationship to our environment, mental and physical, can be a useful mirror for seeing into ourselves. I aim to tackle this one in more depth in another post, so in the meantime, bon voyage~