There comes a time in each chapter of our lives where the winds of change start to blow. It starts like a gentle breeze, barely audible and grows to a whisper. If you ignore it, it only gains momentum until it's a roaring tempest that threatens to dislodge your footing on reality. Denying this wind even for a short period, leads to frustration and disillusionment. But if you give it rein, as scary as that may sound, it can take you to a place where time is suspended and you arrive in the mythical lands of "Self Awarenessville" and "Perspectivia".
I believe that these journeys, suspended in place and time, also more commonly known as "sabbaticals", are essential in the world we live in for the ability to breath, to develop and to discern the things that really matter from the things (places and people) that don't. That's also what separates a sabbatical from a mere vacation. There is no going back after a sabbatical. It's not a time out, rather it marks the beginning of a new chapter.
When people take this time (and few do) it is usually only once in their lives - after school or uni and before starting "a real job". But it baffles me why the value of doing it at other points in our lives is not also universally recognised. I once saw a Ted Talk by a Dutch advertiser who argued that we should retire 7 years later and instead disperse those 7 years throughout our lives as sabbaticals. He argued that the sabbatical was essential for him and his staff to get perspective on their personal lives and to have the freedom to develop professionally. It was his firm view that it made one more productive, more balanced and happier. I couldn't agree with him more.
Some businesses/institutions and firms have designated sabbatical programs. But if they don't or won't engage in the discussion, just leave. Seriously, you will find another job, you will come back motivated and focused and it's likely you will be more employable than when you left. It's a leap of faith but at the end of the day, you don't get to do this life again and I doubt you will remember all those long days spent in the office on your death bed. Of course, it's also a myth that you can't be productive during a sabbatical - you can study abroad, volunteer or even work teaching English (or whatever language you want the world to speak). But whatever it is, I assure you, your life will be better for it.
There are always a thousand excuses as to why you can't do a sabbatical and I can imagine some extreme cases where saying "just go" is just not possible - crippling disabilities, illness and extreme poverty. But, on the balance of probabilities, if you're reading this post then it's unlikely those circumstances apply to you (though one day might!). Your big excuse is more likely to be - I'm scared to leave my job, I don't have enough savings and I have children. Having already addressed the first (leap of faith) and the second (work/study on your time abroad) let me turn to the third.
In 2011, Thomas (husband) and I dropped our lives in NZ, sold everything and flew to Europe. We bought a beat up old camper-van (which we rechristened the Rendeavour) with the intention of spending an indefinite period of time vagabonding across the European continent with no agenda, no bucket list and very little money. We ended up doing this for 6 months and our lives have never been the same since. The clarity, energy and direction we found on that trip is still sustaining us to this day - it has led to post graduate study, changes in our careers and lives that spread across three countries. But what we also learned during this trip is that this style of travel would have been (mostly) possible with small children too. Of course, without children, this is all speculation. But not for long.
You see, I don't have a concrete example yet to disprove the myth that you can't sabbatical with kids. However, today two (and a half) bold and courageous friends of ours are taking us up on this challenge. They have dropped their lives and are taking their 1 year old to Europe to vagabond for 5 months. I'm so grateful for their courage and for their voracity and I wish them the very best of luck in their pioneering journey! Without a doubt, it will be all those little family moments and experiences - swimming in a pristine mountain stream, eating gelato in a sun-drenched piazza or hiking over some ancient Roman aqueduct - that will make the hellish 50 hour flight and airport transition time worthwhile! (Or at least, that's what I've told them).
My point? It can be neatly summarised by two adages:
1. Life is not rehearsal; and
2. Fortune favours the bold.
Whatever you're waiting for, drop everything and just go
Great post Erin! I too can certainly vouch for the importance of doing a sabbatical. Whilst not as extreme as what you and Thomas have done I dropped my job in Australia last year having worked in that same job and hospital for 5 years! I took 4 months off. Two months were spent ‘winging it’ traveling Europe, 1 was spent selling everything in Australia and 1 in NZ. I then took off to a completely different world the Middle East, Abu Dhabi. I’ve never looked back! The experience has completely changed what I thought was important and where I wanted to go, it clarified and transformed how I think about life and myself in general. I would never criticize the amazing people and places from which I have come but I can say I am much happier now for where I am today. I couldn’t recommend these sabbaticals enough and would strongly encourage those who are solo to do them solo as well. Don’t wait until you have someone in order to travel “just go.”
ReplyDeleteOne thing I’ve learned is that ‘you’ are your biggest asset. Comfort and security are seductive states of being that often end up suffocating our souls. Ever notice the cynicism, resignation and detachment of older adults when it comes to ideas? Have you ever come across one of those empty shell people, and you think "What the hell happened to you?" That spark, that childlike enthusiasm that inner hero in their souls anesthetized by their life long capitulation to respectability, comfort and conformity. The end result being a person weighed down by dismay, disillusionment and self-doubt, like a ball and chain in the place where their spiritual wings should have grown! There comes a time in each one of those lives where they would have been standing at a crossroads... someplace, someone, somewhere, where they had to decide whether to turn left or right. If you do hear that whisper or feel that wind of change blowing your way stop, listen, take heed, this is no time to chicken-shit! You will thank yourself for it later!
I’d like to share a quote from one of my favorite authors Ayn Rand “In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours."
Check your road. Go the sabbatical!!! :)
I find your blog post highly relevant and inspiring Erin, it is just what I am about to do and gives me an extra dose of energy and enthusiasm to move forth in the world with eyes wide open.
ReplyDeleteYour words, like your personality, is larger than life and it is an absolute delight to know you now.