So, we got back Tuesday morning from two wonderful weeks away on vacation. And already I can feel the old stress wanting to creep back in. There’s a ton of stuff to get done now. I can feel the sort of gripping pain in my gut that is an old, old mark of stress. Dangit. I don’t want to just throw it all back into “high gear.”

Is it inevitable?

Do we just get a taste of a different pace of life, but it doesn’t ever have a lasting effect?

I’m wondering – how can we make meaningful changes?

I mean, I have these sorts of experiences several times a year. I get away and get some perspective. I see my life from a different point of view, see some things I’d like to change. But over time the revelation fades, and it feels like I have to learn the lesson all over again.

I hate that. Doesn’t lasting change really happen? Is the Matrix inevitable?

So here’s what I’m thinking – what small changes can I make that would reflect the clarity I have, while I still have it? Before the revelation fades into the busy-ness of life, what can I do to go with it, run with it, make decisions that will help it linger?

Today, it was stop and have lunch.

I usually work through lunch, if I take it at all. I know its just a sign of that nose-to-the-grindstone mentality, and so today, I stopped and ate lunch without doing anythng else. Just lingered. “Wasted time,” so to speak. It’s a small change, but a significant one for me at least.

Now I’m going to leave early. Another small choice. A good one.