No need to go to Greece

First time seeing this tea when I was in Crete. (Click to read the Chinese name.)
The direct translation is -- PhD in Happiness. The amazing thing is that the Chinese pronunciation really sounds like "Roo-i-bos". I got super excited and took this picture, only to realize that it is everywhere in the US! Buy your Happiness PhD in a supermarket near you!


Some people travel because they want to see different parts of the world.
Some people travel because they want to step out of their own world.
Almost everyone travels for both of these reasons combined.
If you are more for the "getting away" reason, this post is for you.

On my flight back to San Francisco from Greece last September, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad for the usual reasons --

I can't believe the vacation is over!
I need to go back to my 9 to 5 routine life tomorrow.
What is there to look forward to next?

With that said, I was completely okay to say goodbye to all the excitement, peacefulness, and beautiful scenery in Greece. Because I know that some things are better kept in my memories so that they will always stay beautiful and I will only cherish them that way.

More importantly, I know I am lucky to call one of my favorite cities in the world home. Then I realized that there was no need to travel all the way to Greece to look for what I needed.

All I have to do is to turn things off -- the cell phone, the TV, the computers, and the watch or any time measuring devices (important!). And to set things up -- the out-of-office auto reply emails, the voicemail vacation outgoing messages, and any social networking vacation statuses. If you can, try to pretend you do not even understand English.

Now give it a try for 2 days, then you will know what I mean.

Wake up and fall asleep whenever you want to.
Talk to people, face to face, only if you feel like it.
Eat when you are hungry or when you encounter something delicious.
Move around with no destinations, based on the sky, not the map.
Write with real pen and paper and take pictures if you don't want to forget about something.
See what attracts your eyes, hear what pleases your ears, and pay attention to what pokes your curiosity.
Take the time to think with your brain and feel with you heart.

You will then understand that there is no need to go to anywhere else, just go back to the time when information flowed slowly without the "help" of technology, then you will come back as fresh and charged as new! (to all of those emails and messages that have been waiting for you. ahh.)


PS: If you want to leave a comment, please do it here, not on my facebook page. Thanks!