“I also think it’s pointless for a human to paint scenes of nature when they can go outside and stand in it.” – Ron Swanson
Pictures of nature are nice, but I kind of agree with Ron. Go outside. Seriously. It will do you a world of good. Adam and I spend the weekend at Rock Cut State Park in Rockford, IL and it was just delightful! 
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I feel like there are only two camps when it comes to returning from vacation. Either you are super ready to get back to things and your regular routine or you just don’t wanna return to reality.
Our little cottage for the week. We stayed at Timber Ridge Resort and it was awesome!
I’m definitely in the second camp.
Made it up one of the many dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes.
We’ve been back home since Friday, but I’m still resisting getting back into the swing of things. Saturday we spent the day at the beach and Sunday was just a lazy-do-nothing day. I know eventually (like today) I’ll start being an adult with responsibilities, but I really enjoyed my week away from the “real world”.
View at the end of the Empire Bluff Trail.
Have you ever just checked out of the everyday grind? Like really unplugged? I won’t say I totally removed myself from social media, I mean, who finds a taxidermy museum and DOESN’T share it on Instagram and Facebook? Selfish people, that’s who. But I will say I didn’t check my email, or constantly scroll through my Facebook or Instagram feed and it was really nice. If I missed anything, it wasn’t life-altering because the world still turned.
View from the highest point on Mackinac Island. There is more on the island than fudge and horses!
I don’t need to be connected 24/7.
Me refusing to get any closer to the dead stuffed lion than this. Also, that ox is blue in the background
The albino deer we dubbed the “Come at me bro” deer due to his hoof placement
And that has been a really hard concept for me to grasp because I work from home so I am ALWAYS connected. I always feel like there is something I could be doing. I always feel like I’m not working hard enough. I always feel like if I take a break, I’m missing out on some opportunity to better myself, my life, my home, my blog, my work.
We found a lot of fun stuff to take our picture in front of like this giant rooster….
But that’s ok. This vacation taught me that in order to give my best it’s completely ok to not always be working, or doing something, or checking something, or fixing something. Things will be just fine and life will keep on coming and if I actually rest, I and my work will be better for it.
And this wooly mammoth made of scrap metal….
That’s just one of the many lessons I learned during my week off, and I’ll share more in the coming weeks, but enjoy some of these awesome adventures I had and maybe schedule some down time for yourself.
And this ferocious bear!
Who knows? You might find your own two-headed calf to marvel!
Not making this stuff up folks!
Raise
your hand if you feel uncomfortable when you can’t check your phone every five minutes? How about if you have to turn it off? If you go a day without checking Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/whatever social media site?
Don’t worry if you raised your hand and kept it up there, you’re in good company. Most of us have a hard time getting away from our TV, phone, or computer screens for longer than a few minutes. I’m just as guilty as the rest of you. As a blogger, I spend an inordinate amount of time writing and researching posts, putting things up on all of my social media accounts and browsing the enormous amount of cat pictures online. Ok, that last one really doesn’t have anything to do with blogging but you get the idea.
As a culture, we are enamored with the instant gratuity that social media provides us. It feels good to post a picture on Instagram and have 20 likes in the first 5 minutes. I love hearing my phone ping with a notification that someone favorited my last tweet. It makes me feel important worthy, like I’m doing my job as a health blogger right.
While that’s somewhat true, if no one liked or read my stuff I would be pretty ineffective, it’s also a little counterintuitive. Being healthy doesn’t mean spending all my time trapped behind a screen and in the online world. We need to get away from the glow of our phones and laptops and televisions and out into the world of people and natural light.
I recently noticed that some of my best work for my blog came when I was actually away from it. Every day I try to take an afternoon walk. It helps break up my day of sitting and gives me a chance to not be working. While out on these walks I don’t have my phone to tell me there is a new notification on Facebook or my laptop refreshing with new emails.
It’s just me and the great outdoors.
It clears my head and I can actually come up with some awesome ideas for the blog. Sometimes I compose whole posts while out on my morning run or solve a problem that I have been struggling with for the past few hours while I’m strolling by the lake.
Technology is great, don’t get me wrong. I love being able to reach a big audience and have my words and thoughts make an impact all while I’m sitting in my pajamas. But don’t forget there is so much more out there than getting more followers or retweets. Try unplugging yourself for just a few minutes each day. Just 20 minutes where you don’t look at any technology.
Go outside
Take a walk
Read a book
Get coffee with a friend
And don’t post one picture of you doing it on Instagram. You’ll be more productive for taking a short media break and the internet and slew of cat memes will be waiting for you when you get back.
There is a whole world waiting for you to find it, all you have to do is put down the phone and look around.
Life Healthfully Lived 