Spiritual seekers keep an open mind—and enter open doors.  On Ash Wednesday, my car parked itself and my legs followed hundreds of others who were quietly striding over the ice to commemorate the first day of Lent in the astounding St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Ash Wednesday is no party.  Rather, most denomonations commemorate this sacred day with darkness, silence, and introspection.  The presiding priest reminded us that Easter season is a time for…

• Prayer…”I want, I will, with God’s help, to be holy.” (Mother Teresa)
• Fasting…Pass over the things that are not truly valuable; ask for needs, not wants.
• Alms-giving…”Lent is radically hopeful.”

With any luck, spiritual seekers also partied their brains out on Fat Tuesday, the rash bash that happens before Ash Wednesday.  But for now, the opportunity has arisen to consider living with less while striving for a higher consciousness for about 40 days and 40 nights.

Funny, but sometimes when you say no to unworthy distractions, you find ample time and energy for what matters most.

That can hold true for enlightenment, relationships, and coveted dreams—including BreakAways.

Career break travel isn’t always postcards and peak moments.  Last week, for example, one couple’s  sabbatical got rocked by a deadly earthquake. Ouch!  Imagine enjoying the legendary beauty of Christchurch, New Zealand, only to see your dream become a catastrophe.

I spent more than two months of glorious Sabbatical time in New Zealand, so this story really popped out at me.  Then, when it turned out that the couple was from Estherville, Iowa, the experience felt even closer to home.  I still vacation near there—and love a certain roadhouse, golf course, and winery on the outskirts of town.

• Riding the quake out

Fortunately, our BreakAway couple is fine and aim to finish their time in NZ.  That takes some courage, but they’ll also take home some inspiring stories and images from amid the rubble.

They aren’t going to let a little earthquake ruin their sabbatical.”

That’s the risk you take when you leave your home and comfort zone.  Dreams have no guarantees.  And while my breaks have been pretty lucky—nothing more earth-shattering than a head concussion and the occasional jellyfish sting—travel can be treacherous.  Then again, so can staying home.

One mantra of this site is, “You can go home again.”  Many people would.  So high-fives to Travis and Carolyn Ridout for riding the quake out.

During the work day, how often do we nag ourselves,

Stop drifting!  Focus!  Finish!”

Plenty, probably, since distractions never cease—whether from digitalia, peers, phones, or cravings.  Well, relax.  A recent academic paper states that little breaks actually help—not hinder—productivity.

• Attention ain’t endless

A University of Illinois professor’s studies found that, among other things, students’ attention fades at 20 minutes.  But what about students who received diversions?  Their focus lasted longer.  As Professor Alejandro Lleras, who conducted the research, puts it,

It’s important to create an environment where it’s OK to take small breaks.”

This might be good news—since this teacher finds that students are more distracted than ever.  As one fellow instructor recently told me, “ALL kids have A.D.D. these days.”  Seems like it sometimes.  Yet maybe with frequent pauses, we can all get more done than when we duct-tape ourselves to our desk.

• Get off your butt?

Instead of cruising from one screen stimulus to another, though, why not get off your butt?  Why not go for a short walk?  Why not water the plants, file the pile, eat a fun lunch, or shovel some snow?

Which reminds me…There’s still white stuff to push around here.  And this screen is draining my energy.

Time for a break!  YEE-ha!

The news about 3D becoming commonplace is making the world all agog—and a-goggle.  Soon, even mobile digitalia images will jump off the screen.

Nintendo’s handheld 3D game arrives next month.  Sharp’s 3D smart phone shows up any day.  And 3D home theater systems will soon be de rigeur in every McMansion worth its stucco.

Oh sure, I’m a sucker for 3D movies when at the cine-mall—never mind the unfortunate up-charge.  Watching those meatballs fall from the sky (or whatever) boggles the senses.  Watching the smile (or sometimes, the scream) from my daughter thrills a dad any old day.

Still, the fuss seems sorta silly.

• After all, reality has been in 3D since Day One—eons before screen innovators found a way to imitate the magic.

One can only hope that the digitally addicted will not forget how to admire a sculpture, climb a tree, or explore a new neighborhood.

3D miracles still surround us in reality, too.  24/7.

Like this tractor, most of us will keep running and working for a long, long time.  Like this tractor, we need to take a break (brake?) now and then.

Yes, just about everyone will have gaps between jobs—whether you like it or not.  Let’s do the math:

The average job tenure is now 5 years; most folks will work about 50 years; that’s about 10 career break opportunities between gigs!

When presented with the idea of a BreakAway, most folks’ first response is, “Oh, I could never do that!”  And yet, isn’t it likely to happen at some point?

If you don’t find your career break, maybe it will find you.  With so many jobs and so little free time, we can only hope.

It pays to be ready.

Survey sez…

• 5.2 Median number of years that full-time workers stay in their jobs (in 2010).
• 5.1 Median job tenure for women in 2010, an increase from 4.2 years in 1983.
• 5.3 Median job tenure for men in 2010, a drop from 5.9 years in 1983.

Employee Benefit Research Institute

Sometimes, a week far away seems hardly worth the toil, though most Americans rarely do that any more.  Other times, like this time, a week away feels like a mini-Sabbatical.  Mazatlan served up a healthy helping of sunshine and sass—just when winter Up North was threatening to become a living hell.

Mazatlan has been an important port and escape for millenia, yet it feels timeless.  When did it lose all sense of time?  Perhaps when brave explorers landed the endless beach and—if they had any sense—hunkered down for a while.

Or maybe it happened whenever the natives started settling.  And who wouldn’t want to stay?  Even in January, the sun shines warms the land to a balmy 80, while night falls to a cozy 50.

Might the development of the 60s and 70s been when time stopped?  Resorts and hotels shot up like beach weeds—while one young entrepreneur hatched Senor Frog’s.  All those cool cats made millions.  And Mazatlan became one of the world’s hot spots, at least for a while.

Time stands still in a place like this.  Nobody seems to care what day or decade it is.

The livin’ is easy…

The Pacific makes for a frigid bath in winter, but cool water never hurt anyone (at least not like ice).  And explorers, settlers, and vacationers must have one thing in common:  The desire for easy living.

Today, Mazatlan looks like the glory days may have come and gone, over and over again.  One one hand, dated and shuttered hotels and villas line the expansive Malecon promenade.  “Narc lords who got busted” go some stories.  Other abandonments, who knows?

On the other hand, giant luxury resorts and condos keep shooting up—as if they expect masses of loaded tourists and retirees to fall from the blue sky.  Clearly, money still flows, and Mexico is full of untapped potential.  Too bad most residents barely have running water in this third-world conundrum.

But maybe it’s better this way, at least for us visitors.  Parking is a snap.  Great restaurants are half-empty on a weekend night.  The service people offer competence and curiousity, as if they never expected to get rich quick anyway.

What they say is true:  Mexicans are happy people, more interested in pleasure than work.  They have much to teach their jaded neighbors to the north.

• So much to see, so little time

As always when on BreakAway, reality calls all too quickly.  A week flutters by like the crazy frigates in the sky.  Tan vacationers reluctantly board the same airplane that plopped them here seven days ago; the same aloof flight attendants give glances that say, “You again?”

In my case, a reunion with some lifelong friends also celebrating 50 birthdays makes the city backdrop superfluous.  Could we have forseen that our mutual adoration could last so long?  That we could still talk (and party) nonstop?  That our giddy  laughter could still make strangers stare?

That said, this place merits more attention.  Like, maybe, five months a year.  Just ask the smart Yankees and Canadians that smugly stay here—and look mostly fat, smart, and happy.

• Comin’ back to the cold

Even the tires scream when they hit the Minnesota ground, which remains covered in unyielding snow and ice.

But for a few days, and maybe longer, the mind’s eye sees not frozen urban sprawl, but Pacific waves.  Smiling Mexicans of many generations.  Art tucked into beloved boutiques and erected beside the sea.  Seafood so fresh it might jump off your plate.

On the plane, an elderly gentleman who now has a second home there reflects,

I thought I was just smitten with the vacation fun, and life couldn’t be better than it is in America.  But after all these years of living in both places, I’m sure of it now:  Life is better down there.”

Isn’t the internet great?  Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much—like when you need serious assistance.  In the past week, I’ve gotten trapped in enough online snares to miss the good old days of Ma Bell Hell.  Here are just a few of these head-banging incidents…

Gift card / sports store. One offspring gets a gift card, so we go to the store.  As these things go, we find $200 worth of stuff though the card value is only $100…

Them: After ringing us up, the checker says, “Oh, this is an online gift card.  We don’t accept those in the store.”

Us:  “Hmmm, is there anyway around this?  We only came in bacause of the gift card.”

Them:  “No, but you can put back all your merchandise and then go buy it online, if it’s there…”

Autopay form / department store credit card. Autopay is a win-win-win, right?  It makes life better for the store, the customer, and the environment.  So when the online sign-up failed to function, I called the store…

Us (after a long, long wait and punching many digits—which eventually needed to be repeated to a Human):  “Hi.  I’m unable to complete the autopay form online, so you could mail me one?”

Them:  “Actually, for your convenience, you can just print it from our website.”

Me:  “Okay, but I’m not at my computer now, and my my printer needs ink.  So could you kindly just mail it me?  I’ll take it from there…”

Them:  “Actually, we don’t mail that form.  What number may I fax it to?”

Me:  “Actually, my fax isn’t hooked up and I’m not at the office.  Can’t you please just mail me one?  Or ask someone who can?”

Them:  “Well, we don’t do that, but let me talk to my supervisor.”

L o n g                              w a i t

Them:  “Okay, just this once, my boss said we can mail you one.  It might take a few weeks tough.  How else may I help you today?”

Vendor recommendation / municipality. The gardening to-do list takes a break during winter, yet dormant plants and a blanket of snow make it the ideal time to take down a dead, old ash.  My municipality prefers that you use vendors that have a proper local license, so I try to comply.  When my usual cutter does not appear on the online list, I call in…

Me:  “Hi.  I’m wondering if you can tell me if a tree service is still licensed and recommended by my fine city.”

Them:  “Great!  But actually, you can just find that information online.”

Me:  “Yes, I’m on that page right now, but my vendor is gone.”

Them:  “Oh.  Well, we may be behind on keeping that list current.”

Me:  “Great!  So tell me, should Grizzly’s Tree Care be there?  They always were in the past…”

Them:  “Hmmm, let’s see.  Ya, sure.  They’re current on the license and everything.  Go ahead and use them; they do good work.”

Us:  “Yes, I agree.  Nice to know someone does.  Thanks for your ‘help’”.

Having just returned from a BreakAway in Mazatlan, I’m temporarily smitten by the notion that, in some places, real people still offer unplugged service—and don’t just bat you back to your cold, lonely screen.  Because they probably don’t even have one.  Because they value things like human contact, attention, and having a job.

Thanks for listening.  I have to go now—to pay a bill online, renew an Apple service online, and resolve a payroll discrepency online.

Wish me luck.

Scholars and slackers worldwide continue to debate what, exactly, constitutes a BreakAway.  So some of us fervently continue the research.  Does one measly week in Mazatlan qualify?  Possibly.  After all, a guy has broken away from the fam and fray.  Yet one week smells suspiciously like vakay.

But we’re supposed to love the questions, right?  Well then, let’s revisit some basic BreakAway theory and see how this trip stacks up.

Mazatlan Faces the BreakAway Basics Litmus Test

Did I go far away?

Maz Mex certainly is all news to me, since I’ve never biked their long Malecon or meandered their magical old town.  Yet Mexico is familiar like an old sombero.  And while worlds away, the flight from MSP sneaks here in four hours.  Hmmm…

Is there time for both solo and social?

A sweet suite with a deck view of early Paradise makes some ME time a no-brainer.  Yet I’m here to get crazy over turning 50 with two lifelong friends—one a Malibu entertainment attorney who hangs with the stars, and the other the ultimate free spirit who hangs from them.  Hmmm…

Did I travel light yet log the journey?

When escaping the January grind, can one leave it all behind?  Perhaps:  The iPhone rarely rings; the emails stay in their box; and the catamaran adventure to an island requires only shades and watershoes.  Yet here I am, working (?) on my MacBook Pro and downloading digital pics.  Hmmm…

Can I keep it edgy but keep it smooth?

Travel promises adventure—and one may ride into more when racing dilipidated bikes down steep streets, kayak–surfing waves through island rocks, and wandering foreign ‘hoods alone late.  Yet I’m soaking up hot tubs, beach feasts, and cerveza and sunshine.  Hmmm…

Will I stay on budget but forget about finance?

These experiences are, well, priceless.  You can’t buy belly laughs and heartfelt talks with old friends—or seeing the sun set into the Pacific seven times.  Yet budget-creep sneaks in like a scorpion, like when this Gringo overpaid a cabby 12-fold (my bad; his good karma).  Hmmm…

BreakAway Si?  Or No?  What’s Your Final Answer?

So in the end, deciding whether a quick, watery week meets the criteria challenges even the alleged experts.  On one hand, a bartender last night so enjoyed my enthusiasm for finally finding beer on tap that he kept refilling my glass (on the house).  What a metaphor!

On the other hand, I know that it can take a week to unwind.  And before you’ve really unpacked, you’re atop a tarmac and whisked back into your reality where larger piles await and nothing has changed—only you.

So si or no?  No se’.  (I don’t know.)  But of this much I am sure:  Deeper research is in order.

:  )

Folks have been making self-improvement promises since, well, Babylonia. The Romans did it too—while worshipping the two-faced god Janus (no relation to the mutual fund, but closely related to the month). Nowadays, resolutions make for great toasts, but usually turn to toast by Valentine’s Day.

So how about New Year’s Aspirations instead?  And why not things to strive for every day, rather than over 365?  Mine are simple—likely same as 2010.  Yet I’ll know a better year (and me!) is in store with even modest progress…

• One hour outside, whether kayaking, sitting, gardening, or shoveling shnow.
• Read from a well-written book, if only one page.
• Go adrift on the internet and Facebook—only when there’s nothing better to do.
• Stretch and do that sorta-yoga routine, especially first thing in the morning.
• That said, sleep long whenever possible and practice good Z hygiene.
• Get exercise—and try to make it fun (kayaking) and useful (yardword) instead of torturous (machines).
• Eat more, so long as it’s a whole foodstuff and not from a geometric container.
• Ditch stuff, as in, reduce the possession piles by, say, 15 – 25%.
• Make more mini-BreakAways, like the river retreat and Hmong Market stopover.
• Take more saunas, hot baths, midnight swims.
• Shut up and listen to music, friends, family, nature, and silence.

What are your aspirations for 2011?  I’m listening.

Christmas has come and gone.  Again.

Beautiful; we still take a few days to BreakAway from our jobs, routines, and rat race.  With any luck, we even reflect, rest, and renew old ties.

But the party is far from over.  Now comes the clean-up, the bills, the weight-loss angst, and the withdrawal from holiday hype.

• What happened?

What’s happened to this sacred season, anyway?  What’s happened to our culture?  I mean, in an era of unemployment, austerity, and alleged rethinking of values, the season’s headlines obsess about retail sales.  It would appear that Christmas has become Growth Engine #1—and I’m not talking spiritual growth.

Meanwhile, I can’t remember the last time a Christmas carol lilted through a public school.  The radio and mall soundtrack is all “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Let it Snow.”  The Christian denominations are losing souls and houses of worship as fast as other religions are gaining them.

• Where the GAINS are

Oh sure, you can find a few expanding strains of Christianity.  And they are likely to be heavily political and opinionated (in ways that may not agree with the Beatitudes).  Or they preach the poppy ME message of Prosperity Theology: “Make Me Rich.”  As uber-triumphant (and uber-rich) Reverend Joel Osteen puts it:

God has said that he will open the windows of heaven and pour such blessing that you will not be able to contain it!”

Oh well, people are just trying to be happy, right?  And when that’s the goal, it may be better to receive than to give.  Better to focus on a personal path than consider sacrifice for world needs or relationship growth.

But the truth (if there is one) of “happiness” may hide in big-hearted, old-school stories like Christmas, not just new-age websites, shopping malls, and self-help shelves.

Search “self help books” on Google and get 191,000,000 links to explore.  Search “self help” on Amazon and ponder 155,000 “results.”  The first “result” is a book with a title that starts, “When Am I Going to Be Happy?…”

Well, “happy” may be a simplistic, self-absorbed pursuit, anyway.  Jesus never promised happiness.  That’s just what we now ask of Christmas, spirituality, and so many things.  And of course, successful living in these times is all about the asking, not so much the sharing.

Was there ever a day when Christmass meant more than merriment, Macys, and money?

I believe.