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September 5, 2019

When "Escape" Is Appropriate

By Barry Rudesill

Today, I’m just sitting back down to work on more Trek materials. I was supposed to be working on this yesterday, but I simply couldn’t focus. Now, to be fair, I did the research I was supposed to be working on, but I didn’t write a single word in the curriculum. Why? What was I doing that was “more important”?

I “escaped”.

Now, I wanted to take a moment and tell you that there ARE times when “escape” is NOT a reactive behavior; it’s not something I’m doing to cover past critical events and the trauma they caused. Sometimes, escape is simply the need to get away for awhile, collect your thoughts, and recharge.

I can even show you this in the Bible:

For anyone familiar with the Book of Genesis in the Bible, do you know what God created on the 7th Day of Creation? I know, some of you are thinking that God didn’t create anything on Day 7, right? Well, if you flip to Genesis 2:3, you’ll find that God “rested”. So what did God create? Recreation!

The word “recreation” literally means “re-creation” or “to make new again”. The goal of Day 7, what God “created”, was to show us how important it is for us to take time away from our work and our worries so that we can be made new! Jesus reinforces this idea of taking down time in Mark 6:31 when He looks at His Disciples and says, “Come away and rest awhile.”

Stress – and the chemicals it brings – tear our bodies apart. If we don’t take the time to rest and re-create our bodies, our health, falls apart. Even more than that, our relationships suffer, because we have nothing that we can give to anyone else. How could we? We don’t even take care of ourselves!That’s why Americans – the group that skips more vacation days than almost every other “modern” nation on the planet – suffers from the most health issues. We don’t take the time to allow our bodies to re-create themselves.

Escape, to re-create, is not a negative thing!

Yesterday, I worked on a tech problem (I love being a geek at times!); I worked on setting up a new antenna on my roof (football season is almost upon us!); and I cleaned part of my house (the In-Laws are coming over! These represent three types of “escape” that ARE appropriate and that help us to recreate ourselves:

1. Doing things we enjoy.

It’s okay to have hobbies, to do things that you enjoy and that make you happy. Hobbies allow us to disengage our brains, change our focus, and relax. By the way, this doesn’t mean spending a ton of money; one of my hobbies is simply walking my dog at night and looking at the stars.

2. Doing things that need to be done.

I have a big “To Do” list that seems to get bigger, rather than shorter, many of them dealing with the fact our house is older. It’s okay to do the things that need to get done, especially if it stresses us out to NOT have them done! (I’m not sure football season is really a “need”, but we’ll discuss that later.)

3. Doing things for others.

I could let my In-Laws come and not bother to lift a finger to clean my house. That means that their vacation, their experience, would be...less. It isn’t fair of me to do – or not do – something that is mine to control and that will help others.

We need to get rid of the idea that recreation only comes when on vacation. If you aren’t running away from the important things, if you are taking time to do things you enjoy, things that need to be done, or things for others, than escape is acceptable, even appropriate.

I just figured I’d share my day. Oh, and to be totally fair, I DID read a few chapters in the book that I’m using to write a new Trek class (and yes, there are new classes coming!) before I went to bed.

Today, find a way to re-create yourself. It will make you a better person, a healthier person; and it will help you with your relationships with people around you.

I hope you enjoy your journey!

September 5, 2019

When "Escape" Is Appropriate

By Barry Rudesill

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