THOMS SUNDAY TRAVEL SECTION.
A Guarantee.
Every day is a challenge, an opportunity, a blank page, a new day. You get the idea.
Every day that you wake up, still breathing, you have overcome the day’s greatest challenge. The rest are small in comparison.
From the day we are born, we are one day closer to dying, the one given guarantee. Some say taxes are another guarantee. But you can choose not to pay taxes. And if you don’t, I guarantee there are many other results you will be facing.
So after birth, dying is the only genuine guarantee. Even the amount of time in between is not a guarantee.
A Third.
The scientists tell us we will sleep a third of that away. So for those in their twenties saying they only need three to five hours, don’t worry, your body keeps count. It starts collecting that lost sleep after fifty… That’s a guarantee.
Most of us need to work part of the remaining portion. Well, first we go to school or training so we can work. Then we fill 30-40 hours of a week with that occupation. Some work more, even doubling those numbers.
I always wonder where they are finding that extra time. These people have no more hours in a day than you or I.
The Remaining “Third.”
So what are we doing with the remaining “third?” This period is the one segment we have some control over.
We can listen to “news” 24-hours a day.
But if they include the terms “horrific,” “Chaos,” or name-calling, it is probably more their feelings than news.
We can list all of our ills and feel sorry for ourselves all day.
You can list all the things you don’t have: the latest I-phone, kitchen gadget, or remodeled bathroom.
You can regurgitate hate until you are blue in the face. I HATE that fast-food chain, and I HATE the people of that country, I HATE that religion.
If you hate another religion as a religious person, you may want to reread your religion’s doctrine. If you hate anything, it might be time for a refresher.
A Gift
Most people in the world have an incredible opportunity in front of them.
I don’t have time to do ten situps, walk around the block, ride my bike.
There’s never enough time to send a note, a birthday card, or even a P.M.
Pick up a pen, or pick up the phone and call and talk with someone. And listen.
I never have time to clean the house, clean out a closet, cut the grass, wash a window. Now you do.
I Guarantee I am getting to something.
Travel!
Has he just gone round the bend? Is this it?
There are travel restrictions. On planes, perhaps, but not on books, travel videos, or your photo albums.
I can’t afford to travel – books are free if you return them on time. Youtube has 10000 hours of travel videos on every location. Some people have travel websites you can wander through. (wink wink)
Travel to Thailand through the writings of Indian-born British travel writer Anna Leonowens.
Or watch a Rodgers and Hammerstein movie on beta, VHS, blueray, or TCM based on Anna Leonowens.
Listen to the OBC of The King and I while you clean out that closet. Then get carry-out from your favorite Thai restaurant.
Google your favorite destination. Then click on images. I guarantee there are probably more than you can look at in a lifetime.
Guarantee of a Smile.
If you are old enough to know what a photo album is, grab one from a past vacation. Or that shoebox of kodak moments you would put in an album “when you had time.” You have time.
Or, if you have a scanner, put them into a digital collection and edit the yellow out. I have a friend who may have a few patience issues; she takes pictures with her phone of old photos.
Take a trip down memory lane. Send copies to a traveling mate, or call them and talk about the photos. Get together over International Coffees while practicing social spacing, and remember that waiters name in Italy.
Guarantee of a Laugh.
If nothing else, that hairstyle from 20 years ago or that outfit (WHAT were you thinking?) should bring a laugh. Or remembering that waiter’s name (John-Lucca).
Or what about that food you were eating thinking it was something else? Remember the time you saw one of those animals for the first time?
Your dream of revamping a villa in Italy. Watch (re-watch) “Under The Tuscan Sun.”
Watch, or read, how Stella, Shirley Valentine, or Dorthy Gale get their grooves back.
Almost A Money-back Guarantee.
Laughter is the best medicine. A smile is a frown you turn upside-down. Right now, people need to do a lot more smiling.
Do smiles cure people? I cannot prove it, but positive attitudes seem to affect speedier recoveries positively.
Laughter gives you endorphins, and those make you happy. Elle Woods believes that “happy people just don’t kill their husbands.”
Smiling doesn’t cost you anything, although it may burn many fat cells.
Smiling almost always makes you look younger.
Don’t Worry. Be Happy.
When I was a cruise director (back on the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria), I would ask something.
On the first night of the cruise, we would have a get-to-know your staff and ship “show.” It was very different then. Introduction of the staff, a brief overview of the ship’s services, a preview of the entertainment, and an ice-breaker. Something to get guests talking to one another.
At the show’s end, I would ask the guests to please leave their jobs, bills, worries at home. I would guarantee that they would be waiting for them when they got home.
People would laugh when I would say that. But over the next few days, they began saying hello to strangers, and their shoulders dropped below their ears.
I did not have to compete with cell phones, tablets, or laptops as they were still in the future.
The people who could do that would have the best vacation.
Today’s Guarantee.
For the next 15 minutes, forget about the news, the job, the bills, that sink of dishes. I guarantee they will be waiting for you.
Turn off every electronic communicating device (except the one you are reading this on) and just let go.
You CAN do it. You DESERVE it.
Take a trip to the balcony or backyard and take a big whiff of life. Those with allergies or living in a large city on garbage day can skip this step.
Eat something that reminds you of a happy time or place.
Remember your 10th birthday, the family trip to the Smokie Mountain Candy Kitchen, Little Italy, or making pancakes with dad?
Listen to a record of the first band you ever saw in concert, your first Broadway Show, or orchestral performance.
Put on Mozart, then plan to attend the Mozart Festival in Texas, Lincoln Center, or Salzburg, Austria.
Watch a travel video, or read of exploration. Revisit a book or movie from your childhood. Did it involve an exotic location like Rio, Hawaii, Rome, Casablanca, or the Road to Zanzibar?
Feel the smiles as you revisit an old friend of a book, movie, or location.
Take note of the good feelings in your soul as you learn of new and magical mystical places.
Make That Third Count
Do you sleep better at the vacation house or on Saturday or Sunday morning?
Is work more tolerable knowing Friday or vacation is coming up?
If you don’t think how you live the “play” third of your life is essential, look again. It influences the other two-thirds.
Unless you live directly under an exploding volcano, you do not need to hear the “news” every 15 minutes.
If there have been no radio-active bugs or animals biting you, your health is probably stable for 30 minutes.
What goes up usually comes down; the temperature, bumps on the heads, and stock markets.
If you are not selling stock today, at a loss, get off the ledge.
Stop thriving on hate, fear, or anger; it’s making you look very old and fat.
The unknown scares us, so make a plan, maybe even a plan B. Understand they will change; it’s O.K.
Be smart. Wash your hands often and year-round—no more excuses.
Sleep, nutrition, and exercising support your overall health if you did not know it before.
Smile, laugh, and travel, even if it’s only on the couch.
At least smile when you can. What if mom was right, and your face will freeze like that?
Did You Know?
You can “travel” my website in several ways.
If you prefer more visual (pictures), “See” the locations through the See Pages.
Are you a Foodie? Did you know many of the locations on my website have pages dedicated to traditional foods? Taste Pages.
Are you planning a trip? Take a deep dive into history and must-see sites to get the most out of a location. Destination Pages.
Take a bus, a train, or a plane, or travel in a box, with a fox, eating lox.
However you do it, get out of your head for 15 minutes today.
Scroll down to the “Please Leave a Reply” section at the bottom. Please tell me your thoughts on:
“Where is a place that makes you smile or laugh?”
Please help me spread the news by rating, commenting, and sharing this blog below. – THANKS!
“See the World” Continued on Page T3. “Taste the World” Continued on T11.