Escapism, Denial, or Reality-check?

Daily, I have conversations with friends, peers, and colleagues about their concerns over the economy, lay-offs, business mergers and re-orgs. I patiently listen to them as they relay their story and, even miles/oceans/continents away, I can literally feel the stress they're under. I can only listen and share some of my stories or techniques in how I survived the "pressures" of the corporate, small or start-up businesses but I always tell people to step outside and BREATHE.

The most recent issue of Wavelength Magazine came out - it's a free publication to kayak enthusiasts. The key word here is free - so, all of its operating costs are largely dependent on advertising! So, you can imagine the stress the publisher and editor (and sometimes sales guy), John Kimantas, is under as many businesses and operators pull back on their marketing dollars. However, in this month's editorial column, you can sense the peacefulness and calm that overtakes him when he goes outside - even for just an hour. I thought I would share the key part of his column here because it's what I absolutely believe in. Here is the link to the entire publication-note it's a huge file (18 MB) but worth a good read (see story about paddling in Belize!!) In the meantime, here's the part of his column that made the most sense to me:

(Source: Wavelength Magazine, Jan09)

"...I wonder how long it will be before people realize doom and gloom is a self-fulfilling prophecy? Lose confidence in the stock market and prices plummet. Lose faith in the economy by spending less and the economy crumbles. And so it goes. We here at Wavelength found our own way to insulate ourselves. At the height of the gloom, my partner Leanne and I snuck out of the office early to take two shiny new Epsilons out for a test ride. Everything changes when out on the water. Even the air becomes a natural rejuvenator. Add a fresh ocean breeze, exercise and communing with nature and sensibility returned. Just a little more than an hour on the water and every care in the world seemed to melt away.

This suddenly-remembered freedom took me back to 2005 and my longest kayaking trip (92 days along the B.C. coast). I often went days, nearing weeks, without talking to another soul. In the end only four things really mattered: staying warm, staying dry, staying fed and keeping hydrated. Beyond that everything else was simply clutter. The stock market, world conflict, even what day of the week it was – those became distant and ultimately unnecessary memories. It's so easy to get lost in the things that are fleeting, important at the time but of little consequence in the long run. We take on cares and pressures that are artificial, that we create for ourselves and use to bind ourselves down. Quite often we end up living a lie based on false expectations of what we think we want.

Need a cure? Go kayaking. And the longer the trip the better."
-John Kimantas

So, with that being said, you know who you can count on for a bit of escapism, perhaps a dash of denial (temporarily), but most importantly, a reality-check. Seriously, getting out helps put a lot of life in perspective and remember PTOs are meant to be used and not just accrued.