Essay

Part Six — Vacation

By Garry Bassin

What are you supposed to do on a summer vacation? In a country like Japan where everyone is working all the time, the thought of having two months of free time can be daunting. I never thought I too would think that way, but I recently realized just how far I have come from the carefree days of my childhood.

As a kid growing up in the New York metropolitan area, there was always something to do. From free music in the parks to short trips to the mountains or the beach, it always seemed like the two month summer break was too short. When "back to school" ads started appearing in newspapers it felt like a dark cloud was approaching. September (the month the new school season begins in the U.S.) was always dreaded.

Then, when I got to university and realized how expensive things were, I started to spend all my free time working, whether it was summer holidays or not. And that's where I suppose I lost the ability to take time off. Being a freelancer, you realize early on that you have to work when you can, because you might not be able to work when you want to. In all the years since my graduation, I have never taken a "summer holiday" — until this summer.

Now, I have to re-learn how to do this.

When I get up in the morning, how long should I spend on the computer? Should I go to the beach everyday? Is it OK to just sit in the shade and read for a few hours? Is it really OK to get up in the morning without a plan for the day? I have all these thoughts and more before I tell myself, it's OK - it's summer. It's a holiday.

When I look around, I see there are a lot of people who are able to balance work and play. They can turn on for work when needed, but also find time for family, friends and themselves. A healthy balance of all of these is what's really needed, but for some reason, we tend to forget and abuse our bodies, our loved ones and our planet.

As we grow older, and begin to have jobs and families, we all need to try and remember how it feels to relax, and incorporate a part of that into our daily lives. In a country like Japan, where it is normal to over-work and over-stress, this is all the more difficult, and therefore all the more important. You can't be a child forever, but you can keep within you the feeling of what it was like, and make that a part of your everyday life.

Shukan ST: August 7, 2009

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