How to have a holiday (especially if you're an activist)

James Lawrence writes ...

The summer season is upon us. For some that will mean a holiday. Or will it? Will it actually mean carrying with us all the burdens of our leadership to wherever we go for a break? Will it mean checking the phone for emails/texts/WhatsApp messages? Will it mean a struggle to switch off? 
 
I recently read a post on Why Driven People Suck at Vacations, and it got me thinking. I am someone that loves holidays and has also struggled to find a way that makes them work for me and my family. I know some of you will not understand my struggle. You find holidays easy. But for those who struggle like me… 
 
I used to believe holidays were for rest. Isn’t that what everyone says? ‘Have a good rest.’ I now realise that for me, whilst rest is part of a holiday, it is not the whole story. Holidays are for relational renewal, re-creation and rest. 

• Rest: I do need to disconnect and rest from normal working life. And that is more difficult today in our hyperconnected world. For me a rest from work means no checking emails, no glancing at Facebook groups (leaving devices at home helps!), no preparation. But I’ve learnt it doesn’t mean not reading a stimulating book alongside some relaxing novels, or not taking the opportunity to share my faith. Rest yes, but not denial of the things that stimulate me.  
• Relational renewal: For years I couldn’t work out how to pray on holiday. I wanted a break from my normal pattern, but all too easily that became doing nothing at all. Now I normally find a devotional book to read at the start of each day and journal a little. It is simple, doesn’t take long, and is renewing. Holidays after all do originate from holy-days.
• Re-creation: What recreates me will be different to what recreates you. I am an activist by nature. Achieving energises me. Realising this helped me to see that on holiday I still need to achieve something. I connect my achievements to things that re-create me, and I make sure they are not the sort of things I achieve at work. And I try to achieve something before the rest of the family wake up so that I can enter the day with them without this gnawing sense of needing to achieve something undermining my ability to relax and be with them. That has been perhaps the single most helpful outcome of the Strengthsfinder tool for me.

Of course we all differ massively in the way we’re wired. Of course we each have to find what makes holidays work for us. But if you’re an activist-achiever like me, lying on a beach all day just won't do it. But perhaps we can learn to rejoice in our activism and find ways that both embrace who we are and ensure we still rest, renew our relationship with God and those closest to us, and enjoy some re-creation.

This post was originally part of the CPAS Lead On July 2017 email