Encouragement

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When the summer comes, those who are fortunate enough to live near the coast will only have to look around to see that the holiday season is now in full swing again. The towns are more crowded, the shops and tea-rooms are busier, and the roads everywhere are full of cars and coaches. The beaches are full of red faces, and there are long queues at the ice cream stalls. The visitors have left their daily grind behind, and are determined to have a happy time, despite the sometimes uncertain weather.

According to psychologists, just getting away from all that is familiar and routine is a good thing. Staying at home, they say, stifles our awareness, for we need the exposure to new sounds, sights, and experiences. It can bring us a new perspective to a nagging problem (and most of us have them!) and puts a positive purpose in our mental and spiritual outlook. Somebody once said of holidays, “When you are standing in the middle of a beautiful environment, and you open your eyes to it, you start to feel in tune with it. You actually share in some of the beauty and the power.”

Henry Ford is reputed to have said that the Model ‘A’ Ford motor car would have been in production six months earlier of he had not insisted that his engineers had made Sunday a day of rest. In Ford’s case there was no religious connotation, but simply an indication that working every day of the week, without any leisure time, made them far less effective.

Of course there will occasionally be someone who will go on holiday to an exciting and exotic place and then complain that they miss all the old familiar things back home. And there are others who feel that all the planning and preparation is taking the whole business of holidays far too seriously, and spend whatever leisure time they have with their hands firmly in their pockets, wandering round the same old places, doing the same old things. Happily these people are the exception to the rule, and are sadly unaware that if we are to function well in our day-to-day lives it is vital to have a break of some kind, away from what can be a soul destroying and unfulfilling existence.

We all have our own ideas as to what a good holiday should be. There are some who have a longing to get away from the crowds, who have a deep psychological need for solitude and quietness, and may even wish to spend their time at a retreat where they will have the opportunity to recharge their religious and spiritual batteries.

To them a holiday is a chance to redress the balance of life and discover the healing power of solitude, for they know there is much to be gained and learned from the beauty and peace of nature. Others, of course, yearn for the bright lights, to parade along the seafront wearing their silly hats, and savouring the noise and clamour of the packed streets where they can ‘let their hair down.’ This is not to suggest that one way is better than another, however, merely to illustrate two different facets of holidaymaking.

But just to lighten things up a bit, here is a story about a holiday where the queue of cars at a petrol station was long and tempers were getting frayed. The attendant turned to one waiting motorist, a clergyman, and said, “I’m sorry for the delay. The trouble is that everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a trip which they’ve known for ages they are going to make.” “Don’t worry,” said the clergyman, “I have the same trouble in my business!”

So, whatever you do and wherever you choose to go, remember that the real purpose of a holiday is happiness and contentment. It can be, and it should be a time for learning, relaxing, and for sharing with your family and friends.

And now spare a thought for those poor souls who, for one reason or another, are not able to go away on holiday. Here is a short prayer to offer them some comfort: "Lord, bless the folk who are not on holiday. Keep their tempers sweet and their spirits brave. If they are doing their duty, may they have an inward joy.

If they are longing to get away from the familiar scene but cannot do so because of age or infirmity or opportunity, take from their hearts all bitterness and envy; and by Thy grace so strengthen and bless them that every hour may bring enriching compensations."

When you go on holiday then, may you make new friends, and strengthen old friendships, and may every moment and every experience bring everlasting joy.

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