With no school and great weather, Summer presents the perfect opportunity for vacation. As we approach the peak of Summer, many families have taken time at beaches, mountains, or even their own backyards to relax. Sometimes we take vacations to escape thinking about the worries of day-to-day life. Sometimes we take vacation to see and explore new things. And sometimes we take vacation to spend intentional time with those we care about. Whatever the reason for taking some personal time, vacation can help us to remember that the body matters!
Though we recognize the goodness of work, vacation reminds us of the importance of rest. Our bodies tell us when we’ve overworked ourselves. Our bodies teach us about our limits through stress, fatigue, and burnout. While everybody feels these from time to time, an excess of any of them may mean we need to look at our working habits and reconsider how we use our rest time. Vacations can help us hit the reset button on stress and burnout when we feel overwhelmed. Too much strain on our bodies harms us, so we all need adequate amounts of rest.
“Are you a beach person…”
“…or a mountain person?”
And even beyond rest, sometimes we travel to experience new things. This also implies that the body matters, because I can’t travel somewhere without my body! I can see pictures of the Vatican online, but my body has to travel to Rome to experience it firsthand. No number of virtual tours can match the experience of seeing Rome’s Colosseum in person. We experience the world through our bodies.
Vacation can also present an opportunity to spend intentional time with family or friends. As busy as life gets, it can prove difficult to find time to spend with the ones we love. Vacations allow us to plan activities together. The body matters here too because conversations over the phone pale in comparison to time spent in person. I can’t say I’m spending time with my wife if our bodies don’t enter the same room. When we set aside vacation time, we spend it together, strengthening our relationship.
The great tradition of summer vacation reminds us of the importance of our bodies. Whether we want to relax on the beach, explore a city we’ve never seen, or even just spend time at home with our family and friends, we can thank God for our bodies that make it possible for us to work, play, rest, and pray.
Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.
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