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    “Men seek retreats for themselves—in the country, by the sea, in the hills—and you yourself are particularly prone to this yearning. But all this is quite unphilosophic, when it is open to you, at any time you want, to retreat into yourself. No retreat offers someone more quiet and relaxation than that into his own mind, especially if he can dip into thoughts there which put him at immediate and complete ease: and by ease I simply mean a well-ordered life. So constantly give yourself this retreat, and renew yourself. The doctrines you will visit there should be few and fundamental, sufficient at one meeting to wash away all your pain and send you back free of resentment at what you must rejoin.”

    Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (pag xxxv)

      “People seek retreats for themselves in the country, by the sea, or in the mountains. You are very much in the habit of yearning for those same things. But this is entirely the trait of a base person, when you can, at any moment, find such a retreat in yourself. For nowhere can you find a more peaceful and less busy retreat than in your own soul—especially if on close inspection it is filled with ease, which I say is nothing more than being well-ordered. Treat yourself often to this retreat and be renewed.”

      Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, via The Daily Stoic (Page 91)

      Would You Rip The Wings Off A Butterfly For An All-Expenses-Paid Vacation?

        Would You Rip The Wings Off A Butterfly For An All-Expenses-Paid Vacation?

        “For an all-expenses-paid, one-week vacation anywhere in the world, would you be willing to tear the wings off a beautiful butterfly?  If so, would you be troubled enough to enjoy your trip any less?  What about stepping on a cockroach? …Does a beautiful creature merit more compassion than an ugly one?  If so, why?   Do you injure yourself psychologically by destroying something you find beautiful?  Is there a meaningful difference between pulling the wings off an insect and stepping on it?  How much would it take to induce you to rip the wings off a hummingbird or dove?”

        Gregory Stock, The Book of Questions

        Beyond the Quote (Day 375)

        I finished reading The Book of Questions in February of 2015 and for some reason, the above question is one that left a deep imprint on my mind. I noticed, especially as of late, that since I read it, for no obvious or connected reason, it has been randomly popping into my head—would I tear the wings off a butterfly for an all-expenses-paid vacation anywhere in the world? And every time, I work through the same answer I always do. But what strikes me is that, if I answer the same way every time, why then does it keep recurring?

        Read More »Would You Rip The Wings Off A Butterfly For An All-Expenses-Paid Vacation?

          “We all need a time and place for ourselves where the walls of our usual lives disappear. Sometimes taking yourself out of the hypnotic context of your everyday life is the only way to begin to be able to listen to the still voice within. When you do, listen carefully. Listen for the ways you whisper to yourself, ‘This is who I really am. This is what I need. This is what I want to do.’ When you hear new whisperings about these things, your gift of a year has rescued some lost piece of yourself and made it possible for you to put more of the you back in your life.”

          Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 110)

            “There should be no sense of struggle or any risk of failure with the gift of a year. You’re doing something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time. It’s about pleasure, indulgence, self-care, nurturing yourself, giving to yourself. It’s about seizing the day for yourself so you can do something you’ve long wanted to do. It’s not about making something happen. It’s about letting something happen. It’s not about pushing. It’s about stopping pushing.”

            Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 25)

            The Gift of a Year [Book]

              The Gift of a Year by Mira Kirshenbaum

              By: Mira Kirshenbaum

              From this Book:  25 Quotes

              Book Overview:  Whether you think of it as a treat or a lifesaver, if you give yourself the gift of a year, it will change your life. This book will show you how to give yourself the gift of a year, piece by piece, step by step. As one woman put it, “Nothing could be simpler. For one year you do something that makes you feel great about yourself and your life.” If you’d like guidance, you’ll get everything you need here. If you need help seeing what you want to do with your special year, you’ll get that. If you need help seeing why you’re entitled to give yourself an entire year, you’ll get that. And if you need help with practical issues, like how to find time or ensure you get everything you want from your year, you’ll get that, too. This is a book about women and how we live our lives today. How we really feel about ourselves. How the way we live can drain the ‘you’ from your life, and how important it is to take care of yourself and to fill your life with more of what truly matters to you.

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              Post(s) Inspired by this Book:

                “On vacation go to the most remote place on your itinerary first, bypassing the cities. You’ll maximize the shock of otherness in the remote, and then later you’ll welcome the familiar comforts of a city on the way back.”

                Kevin Kelly, Blog

                  “When friends ask me for suggestions about where to go on vacation, I’ll sometimes ask if they want to try Nowhere, especially if they don’t want to have to deal with visas and injections and long lines at the airport.  One of the beauties of Nowhere is that you never know where you’ll end up when you head in its direction, and though the horizon is unlimited, you may have very little sense of what you’ll see along the way.  The deeper blessing is that it can get you as wide-awake, exhilarated, and pumping-hearted as when you are in love.” ~ Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness

                    Laughter is an instant vacation.

                      “‘Life’s too short’ is repeated often enough to be a cliche, but this time it’s true. You don’t have enough time to be both unhappy and mediocre. It’s not just pointless, it’s painful. Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” ~ Seth Godin, Tribes

                        “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” ~ Seth Godin

                          A Western journalist asked, “Mr. Gandhi, you have been working fifteen hours a day for fifty years. Don’t you think you should take a vacation?” Gandhi smiled and replied, “I am always on vacation.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi