Why We Need Vacations
    There's more to a vacation than can be described in a warehouse full of travel brochures. We certainly need breaks from work. But there is even more to be said for a getaway break , leaving all standard routines behind and sampling a different life for a short while.
    The benefits of taking a vacation start long before the suitcases are packed.  A vacation is something to look forward to and keeps long stretches of routine from seeming endless.  lt may only be a temporary staging post but looking ahead to a vacation gives us that,  whatever's happening at the moment, there's an end in sight.  We somehow expect to feel differently afterwards and are usually proved right.
    it's no coincidence that companies sometimes use away-breaks to restore motivation and team relationships.  lf you're able to switch off and leave everyday patterns behind, when you come back,  you often view old situations with fresh eyes and see them in a new light.  If nothing else, noticing how your thoughts or mood can change on vacation proves  that it's possible to feel differently.  Yet taking a break is only part of the picture.
    People don't disappear while on vacation or go into suspended animation.  We're still thinking and feeling the whole time we're away.  What really makes the difference is not simply geting away from the old grind; it's being able to do something else instead.  We might speak to people we wouldn't normally meet, try sports we'd not do otherwise and discover interests we never knew we had.
    Vacations also allow us to focus on the present in a way that's hard to do at home.  When you're in a new environment for a short space of time, your attention tends to be on what's happening right now and in the next few days.  Sightseeing walks and other recreatienal activities keep our minds even more in the here and now.  This does much more than provide a few pleasant experiences. Being "in the moment is in itself one of the keys to relaxation, and this happens more naturally on vacation.
    Useful as they are in relation to the future, vacations can be even more important in relation to the past. Like major holidays and the change of seasons, vacations punctuate the year and give it a unique character. Ask someone about a certain period of time and they'll pinpoint it by going back over landmark events. Vacations are one of these markers. You often hear people recall, for example, that "it was the year we went to Disneyland'" or  “right after we got back from camping". Family vacations can be some of clearest memories people  have from their childhoods and important parts of a family's shared history.
    Over time our vacations add colour and quality to our personal life stories.  Every vacation is an adventure full of potential discoveries. Perhaps more than anything else, vacations enable us to raise our eyes from familiar paths so that  we can look around and see that there's a world out there.