Hello Friends. Are you there? Maybe so, maybe not, because we may have lost subscribers due to a terrible tech snafu—not the Russians, not hackers, just one of those lamentable collapses that happens. Perhaps you’ve been there. Like that time you dropped the camera off the cliff.

Meantime, the love/hate relationship with technology deepens. The risk of error rises. The passion for unplugging intensifies. Mind-boggling, yes, but also more challenges and topics to tackle. Maybe.

This BreakAway back-of-house breakdown provoked a modest breakdown of my own, since the project here dates back to 2008. Rare is the personal website passion piece—that occasionally leads to more and always dreams of more—that can boast such persistence. Bring on the trophy!

• Shut ‘er down? Or start over?

Yet hard questions arose like angry hornets from a hot August nest . Is it time to unplug for real? Should we move on to that novel? What about that photography show? Is it naptime yet? Hmmm… Rather than jump to any decision, I took BreakAway’s medicine: Take…a…break. Which, in short, is the #1 mantra of this adventure venture.

Plus, it was summer, after all. Summer. Not to mention, our current pandemic-mangled dystopia makes notions of being a thought leader about free time, travel, career, family, and life balance about as relevant as selling margaritas in a West Coast wildfire.

The break WAS lovely. Summer means let go. But I did miss the writing, and the belief of Big Ideas lurking herein: The 5 5-word mantras, the hundreds of posts and thousands of pictures, the personal travelogs. The humor, the cancer missives, the curative essays like the death of Daisy the cat …

• “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” (Coach Jim Valvano, 1946-1993)

What do The Experts say? When tossed, get back on that Horse. When booted from a job, seek a better one. When a dream doesn’t come true, change the channel. Live out loud. Yes, you must preach the Gospel of Sabbatical. If this wacko world we live in keeps going crazier, then we must explore our ways to escape, emerging obstacles, photography as light, and the harbors of hope that have not yet succumbed to tsunamis.

            What do career breaks look like in the work-from-home era?

            Where (and when) can we escape to dream destinations again?

            As travel becomes ever-more complex and expensive, what are the solutions?

            What about simple pleasure like lazy Sundays, sanity diversions, and quiet time?

            Per our preaching: Is it really possible to BreakAway every seven years or so?

Well then. Away we go. Please join in, spread the word, and …

Keep the faith.