Ahhh...Summer!
The arrival of my favorite season means vacations for many; folks dashing off to enjoy the freedom of school out of session, warm weather gracing our days, and the sense of melting tensions that summer allows. Recently, I read a Boston.com article about what makes for a memorable vacation. The author made some interesting points, supported by studies and data, explaining that the quality of your time off largely depends upon the intensity of your vacation activities - not the number of days you cobble together. This "intensity" may be positive or negative, but regardless, the heightened energy creates a lasting memory.
Reviewing some of my own vacation memories, this theory holds true. From the extraordinary laughter with friends as they fall over each other in the warm, saltwater of St. John (above), or when a friend jumped out at a stop light to do a lap around our rental van with a police cruiser watching us across the street (not at 18 years old, but at 40!), to the crazy Virginia thunder / lightening / torrential rain storm that slowed our family's progress down to Jacksonville, FL one summer night...soaking the roof top carrier and drip, drip, dripping rain inside the car where the carrier was tied on, or racing to a Miami hospital because my husband got 2nd degree burns from a faulty Starbucks cup...each event holds a place of memory in my mind and in my body.
Recalling each scenario, I notice the different responses my body produces, feeling as though I am there right now. The way my facial muscles respond to the laughter, and the way my heart beats faster from the thunder that enveloped us; this is how my body holds the memory of those vital experiences.
This closely relates to my coaching work. Everyday, I witness the impact of trauma and the resulting body memory; memories that hold us back from our greatest possibilities, because they are "stuck" in us, until we notice and release them. One of the critically important parts of this work is having a place - a memory - to "glide" to; a safe place, when everything just lined up. A time when you knew you were exactly where you were meant to be, like being in a van filled with friends while one of them runs around the outside - feeling the laughter filling the body inside and out. At What's Next?! Workshop we call it a "just right moment."
Through classes, training, and my own intuitive sense, I know the importance and power of a "just right moment," but most accessible data relates to traumatic encounters, not intensely positive events. Within this simple vacation article, could be a wealth of information for how to link one "just right moment" to the next. By allowing the passion and intensity of your own experience, positive memories may be created, and those, too, will reside in your body. As we string together a series of "just right moments" we forge new neuro-pathways in our body. The neurons that send messages to our brain can truly fire on all cylinders in a way that engages our feelings of well being, rather than those reactions resulting from stress and trauma.
There is no short cut. But if you have released old reactive patterns, you might consider what you want to fill that space with. What are the new mind-body memories you wish to create, and might those be "just right moments" to support your future growth, and well being?
So, what fabulously powerful experience can you allow yourself to have today? Something that feels absolutely right for you, allowing you to be truly who you are...creating a memory that will support you in the tomorrows to come. Now, what if you opened the space for this sort of intensity in your life daily? Could everyday feel as wonderful as a memorable vacation? It might be worth a try.
Making memories to match the intensity of the sun,
Joanne Lutz