I’ve spoken with a few neighbours and understandably many of us are suffering from the January blues right now.
“Self-care’ has taken on a new meaning these days. We must accept what has happened, make sure we’re okay and put our personal well-being first. We need to put an effort into things that make us feel good and engage us, which could be anything from a yoga workout first thing in the morning to an online afternoon class on the art of Hieronymus Bosch!
The cold bleak month of January is nearly over and although Covid is sadly very much still with us, we must try not to feel too sorry for ourselves and focus on positive things. Surely, now is the time to bring out any cheesy New Age books that might be lingering on a bookshelf, to increase self-awareness, create a feel-good factor from within and improve our habitual thinking habits. How about a little bit of Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking? Or a dose of Anthony Robbins’ Awaken the Giant Within?
One particular neighbour seemed a bit down last week when the conversation veered onto whether or not we’ll get a holiday this year. We both agreed that we might not, then the conversation paused, and a certain sadness hung in the air. Suddenly I stopped and realised how gloomy we were being. Maybe we should try to look back on 2020 from a higher perspective?
“Oh well I guess we’ve all had some good holidays in our time, haven’t we?” I try to cheer him up. The next thing I know he’s telling me about his exciting trip to the US a couple of years ago and how he and his family had taken a helicopter into the Grand Canyon; then I’d tell him about taking the ferry to Staten Island and how excited I felt as we approached the Statue of Liberty on my New York trip.
Cornwall
Soon a rush of holiday memories comes flooding back. Memories of parasailing alone across the vast sand and seascapes off the coast of Cyprus. As our lists grew longer our moods lifted and we realise how lucky we had been to have experienced such adventures. Most of us are just normal working people but millions of us seem to go on holidays of a lifetime year in, year out! I regularly used to get photos landing in my Facebook feed of friends trekking around Cuba or sipping cocktails from a cabin on stilts in the Seychelles; or of a colleague climbing a tree on a beach in Mauritius or enjoying a hot stone massage in Crete. How lucky that many of us have been able to jet set around the world, to explore new places!
As a child I rarely went on holiday. My parents were never really into them and were too busy growing their business. Stopping all activity for a week or two was never on their agenda, so I grew up without realising the need for holidays and have early summer memories of Brighton beach and London parks.
My first aeroplane experience was at the age of eleven. Landing in Naples was very exciting, the air smelled so different and as the plane descended onto Italian soil, everything changed. The way the light hit the plane, the thicker leaves on the trees, the stifling heat. As we retrieved our baggage, there was an air of chaos. People were hugging, shouting and gesticulating jovially at each other. Having grown up with a British sense of reserve, I felt apprehensive and stayed close to my mother. Finally, we found my uncle who greeted us with a smile and a huge hug and drove us off to his lovely villa.
Exploring his lush garden filled with fig, orange and lemon trees was enchanting. Growing up in London, I wasn’t really in touch with nature. I was an urban girl and even at that tender age was more acquainted with the intricacies of city life like shopping on Oxford Street or meandering around the Natural History Museum.
When I first met my husband, he was working at a travel company so I was over the moon when he suggested that we could take two holidays a year! Now that I’m an adult, I realise how important holidays are on so many levels. Of course, the health benefits are huge, and we return refreshed, inspired and able to see life with greater clarity and with a renewed sense of optimism. We experience a break in routine, catch up with our reading, meet new people, possibly reassess and re-evaluate our life directions.
However, I think it’s okay to pause. Surely, we can handle a year or two of settling at home, nesting and living a simpler community life? Of course, I’d rather be sipping a rum punch on a Caribbean beach instead of writing in my study cradling my hot cup of morning coffee. But I can’t. So, it’s time to get some perspective on things and realise that I am part of a much bigger picture. For now, we’ll just have to show our mettle and roll with it.
Europe is just a train ride or a ferry trip away
Hopefully we’ll resume our fun holidays later in the year. Although I get a feeling with the looming climate crisis that air travel may need to decrease, and we’ll be jumping on hydrogen-powered trains, electric cars and energy-efficient ferries in the near future. Fortunately, Paris is a mere few hours away, and not that much farther from our doorsteps, we have a wealth of European beaches and cultures to enjoy.
- Marisa Laycock moved to St Albans in 2000. She enjoys sharing her experiences of living in the city. These columns are also available as podcasts from 92.6FM Radio Verulam at www.radioverulam.com/smallcitylife
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