Relax. Breathe in the Good.

Niagara Falls, New York
Do you remember grade school? You would go and the days were long but great fun. You got to partake in all these new and great things, but since you were still a beginner in the whole education process you did not immediately recognize that while doing all those great things you were learning very valuable life lessons... Well, that is kind of like what we are experiencing on this trip. We are having all these great adventures but since this is still a class experience we are also learning and stimulating our minds in ways that we don’t even recognize at first sometimes.

If you continue down memory lane for a bit longer you will also recall the thrill that any kind of break held for you. No matter if it was a week for Christmas or just an early release/ half day. Today was one of those delightful days for the crew. A break! We slept in later and some of us even ate a real breakfast! Later on we visited Niagara Falls and had class in the shade of trees where we could still feel the mist at times. It was a nice change for us mentally and physically.

A problem that we have found present not only on this trip but within many Americans’ lifes is the struggle between quantity vs. quality. The fact that we have to intentionally plan a day to do a minimal amount of things speaks volumes about the culture that we live in. Why should pure exhaustion be the commanding force of when a person should to take a break? The work and rewards system is a complex one no doubt. At one point in the day I spoke to a woman who said her family took their vacation to Niagara Falls…every other year. Now I did not ask the reason for this, maybe it was financially based or maybe it was rooted in the modern ideologies of tirelessly working; either way this reflects back to greater forces.

While I may have qualms with the reconstruction of desirable vacation locations I still believe them (and simple breaks) to be a valuable aspect to any person’s life. They help ground us and to put our goals, family, friends, and so many other things into perspective. So while today could have held many more events I think it was a great relief and wise decision to lay low instead.