Vacation - a state of mind?

Diwali is celebrated big time everywhere in India. But being in Gujarat during Diwali has one additional advantage. Generally, you get 3-4 days officially as Diwali break from the work. This time it forced me to think deeply about the importance or utility that the vacations have in our lives. 

There is no doubt that our daily lives have become much more stressful, or at least we believe it to be so. We associate much of this stress with our demanding Worklife. But on a vacation, we don't feel the usual stress at all, but on the contrary, we feel elated.

So, is it possible to reverse this, i.e. in our everyday life, can we feel like vacation? If we observe our states of mind in the two situations, we will find that the mind is in two completely different states. Can it be cultivated to feel every day or every moment as vacation? Can vacation be a state of mind to live the everyday life with?

I think that we feel good on a vacation, mainly because of the following reasons:

1. There is no fixed schedule. So, we don't have to meet anyone or reach a particular place on a particular time.

2. There are no deadlines. So, there is nothing to be accomplished by a specific time.

3. We feel excited because we are exploring new places, experiencing new things and meeting new people. So, there is a sense of newness, and our mind is keen to explore new.

4. We don't know anyone, so there is no one to impress. We can wear anything and act in any manner we desire.

5. There is no particular agenda and there is no boss dictating how our time should be spent.

So, there is freedom and mind loves this freedom. It does not like to be ordered and live a scheduled life. Things like deadlines and schedules and our constant urge to accomplish things put heavy burdens on our mind. Our mind is constantly thinking and worrying about these. We are planning all the time so that everything goes right. We are worried about the results. We feel that we need to complete certain tasks by a certain time. We have our to-do's, planners and calendars. We worry because we feel responsible and we want specific outcomes, because those outcomes define our success. So, we are also burdened with our own expectations with respect to how things should be shaping up.

We don't feel these things when we are on a vacation. However, the work is still there, the tasks still need to be completed, while we are away. When we go back to our workplace, we will be welcomed by even a bigger pile of work. So, the work does not go away. What go away are the thoughts and the worries about the work. The mind has completely forgotten about it for some time and hence it is happy. Thus, the work-related stress that we feel is not truly because of the work per se, but it is when we link our mind to it. Can there be a way, wherein the mind stops bothering about the work, even when we are in the thick of work? If we can achieve that, we will be on vacation all the time. 

This takes us back to the fundamental question about the nature of our mind. Throughout the years, it has been conditioned to always worry. But the worries need to be dropped from the mind. Not only we need to learn how to do it, but we also need to understand the futility of worrying. I think that there are a few steps to this (not in any particular sequence though):

1. Through observation and contemplation, understand the nature of mind and how it has been conditioned.  

2. Learn how the mind can be deconditioned and how it can be trained to focus on what is happening at the moment. The step-by-step method of yogic practices are of tremendous value.

3. Again through observations and contemplation, understand the bigger picture i.e. life itself and the place of work in our lives.

4. Through meditation and contemplation, understand our true nature and re-arrange our priorities accordingly.