Staying in the 'Real World': Just ... don't come back!
Friday, July 23, 2010 at 12:00AM 
(This week, we welcome veteran communicator Terry Gallagher. Here is the final part of Terry’s series on the natural world. You can read all 5 parts through links in the right-hand column.)
Most of us would agree that the worst part of a vacation is when it ends. That’s especially true when you’ve taken a trip that has allowed you to get reconnected, reacquainted with that “real world” we’ve been talking in this series this week, the natural world of air, water, earth, plants animals and sunshine.
My advice? Stay there. Don’t come back.
Of course, I don’t mean that literally. Your office needs you, there’s laundry to do, lawn to mow, bills to pay. But one of the goals I’ve set for myself in the past few years is to extend the vacation as long as possible. I don’t mean refusing to come home. But I would really like to get better at keeping up the habits I get accustomed to when we’re living in a rented cabin on a lakeshore.
So we try to keep a jigsaw puzzle out on a table at home. We leave the cribbage board out, pegs marking a game in progress. Sad to say, before too many weeks pass, the toys get in the way and are put back on the shelf. And we’re back to old habits, meeting deadlines, scrambling for work, jumping when the phone rings.
What I miss more than the games, though, is the weakening of my connection to the natural outdoor world over the course of the rest of the year. So as this week’s series comes to an end, I’m thinking about how I can continue living in the real world, and continue to explore the authentic connections and genuine values we learn there, as long as possible.
So what’s your advice?
How do you keep the vacation going?
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ABOUT TERRY GALLAGHER: After working more than 20 years in higher education, Terry Gallagher is exploring new ways to use media and messages to build stronger institutions and communities. Most recently, he has joined the board and helped launch communications efforts at the InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, a new group with a long history.
Reader Comments (1)
I agree. Even my habit of being able to read more while on vacation gets truncated at home, but especially my connection to the natural world. One thought I have is that there is natural world around us even back in civilization. There is that small park close by; there is that tree in the backyard. Maybe we need to narrow our focus a bit. In fact one of our problems in civilization is that we do not recognize that even in our urban environments we are dependent on nature. I think it is possible for me to spend a few minutes each day connected to our patches of the natural world and meditating on how I am a part of it all. We need to support and remind one another in this because you are right it is hard to maintain.