Traveling and rest days

I have been traveling for over a month now (if you count the week in NYC to find an apartment).  Really it’s a month and a half.  And boy is it catching up with me.  It is very easy to forgot how tiring it is to travel, especially when you are excited about the trip and others are excited for you.  You feel the need to go out all day, every day or else you won’t really be living your trip to the fullest.  I’m here to tell you, that’s crap.

Travel is EXHAUSTING.  It’s not just the travel itself, but all of the mental activity.  Mental exertion is physically tiring.  That’s why you burn more calories when reading a book than watching TV.  And when you travel, especially to foreign countries, you are always thinking.  Thinking and walking are my main two activities right now.  Being in an unfamiliar place, where you aren’t sure of customs, are unfamiliar with the language, and are careful of your safety taxes you mentally.  It makes you tired, and boy am I tired.  This is where rest days come in.

At first, I felt guilty for taking a rest day.  It seemed wrong to stay in the hotel for most of a day when others are stuck at work and would die to be wherever I am.  Then a backpacker in Bogota (she had been traveling for 6 months) told me that rest days are absolutely essential.  And she’s right.  Since I realized this I have been much happier.

This doesn’t just apply to traveling by the way.  How many rest days you get in your life?  Theoretically we should get two a week, but that usually doesn’t happen.  If you spend your entire life go-go-going, whether because of your jobs, your kids, or something else, eventually you will burn out.  And that’s not good.  Burning out often means losing interest in everything, and that effects your entire life, and the lives around you.  Ponder that today.  When was the last time you had a true rest day?  Maybe it’s time for another one.  Then you’ll be ready to hit the town again.