We blame the banks.  Blame the Wall Streeters.  Blame the Joneses.  But once again, we did it ourselves.  This fine article reminds us that the average credit card debt has hovered around $8,400.  And more than 40% of U.S. households spend more than they earn.  And that was BEFORE the current meltdown really got nasty. 

The history of consumption in America goes back decades.  But the propensity to “need” posh stuff is fairly recent—and went off the charts for a while. 

If we can buck that trend—and save a few bucks instead—not only will our nation will be stronger, but we’ll be able to afford more BreakAways. 

If you’re looking for ways to slow down and savor your free time, check in every Friday (or so) for the forthcoming series:  55 BreakAway BreakThroughs (BABT).  We’ll offer one simple, symbolic suggestion that might bring enjoyment or inspiration—and get you one step closer to your radical Sabbatical. 

BABT1:  Sunday Supper…with 11 possible courses of action

• Have friends and family over, and make everyone collaborate in the kitchen.
• Join hands before the feast and sing, pray, or read something stimulating. 
• Take yourself out for a nice, solo dinner; bring a journal and capture some thoughts. 
• Eat early, then watch a meaningful movie, documentary, or travel program. 
• Go to an exotic ethnic restaurant and neighborhood; shop or wander before or after. 
• Call a long-lost acquaintance; better yet, write them a letter by hand and send it snail. 
• Create the healthiest meal possible that still tastes great and feels indulgent. 
• Cook up a big batch for leftovers; spend less time cooking next week. 
• After dinner, play music or games; make art or a decadent dessert (big banana split?). 
• Get out your BreakAway journal and jot down some ideas about where, when, and how. 
• Leave the kitchen (and whole house?) clean, organized, and ready to start the week fresh. 

Do you have any favorite Sunday evening rituals–or BreakThrough tips to share?  Leave a comment please!

Some of my more devout readers have been saying, “Hey, Horse:  How come you don’t write much personal, emo-navel-gazing stuff lately, like you did before your BreakAway and while you were in the islands?”  Good question.  Maybe the answer is:  None of your business!

But that’s not nice, nor is life so simple.  So let’s dig deeper for 11 tidbits–and TakeAways–about my spiritual (?) post-Sabbatical life of late–an appropriate activity for my favorite day of the year, the Summer So(u)lstice.

• Since coming back from the islands, life has resumed its kid-centric crazy-busy ways; this is my brilliant, yet often banal life, and I know many folks need not hear about it.
• My feelings about that life and sked?  On good days (and seasons), it’s the bomb.  On bad days (and seasons), it’s the other bomb—that threatens to explode me, inside out. 
• About BreakAways, before:  The most challenging yet motivating time is the prep and planning; one lives, reacts, and writes from the gut.
• About BreakAways, during:  That’s the fun part—full of inspiration and life-changing moments (that may or may not matter in a matter of months). 
• About BreakAways, after:  Sorry, it can suck.  Finding the new balance, leaving the thrills and hopes, getting a new (old) groove back; but YES, it’s so worth it.
• About BreakAways, much after:  So now I’ve been back 4.5 months; life is good and summer is bliss, and somehow the Island BreakAway lives on inside like a happy secret. 
• BreakAway TakeAway #1:  Time with kids while they’re still kids is the best gift around me right now, and I intend to bask and glow and grow in it. 
• BreakAway TakeAway #2:  Sitting alone staring at water still soothes the soul. 
• BreakAway TakeAway #3:  When I’m feeling dejected, I remember Islanders I got to know who, it seems, never let much get them down, and feel better. 
• BreakAway TakeAway #4:  Everything is temporary; that’s not always welcome news, but does much to force faith in the flow of life—or else what? 
• BreakAway TakeAway #5:  The past plays a big role in who we are—so packing your years with exciting escapades can be a great way to lead a rich inner life. 

Time with families is down.  Way down.  28% down from a year ago—about the same period of time that FaceBook doubled its members from 100 million to 200 million. 

I remember a broken TV with a sign stuck on the screen.  The sign said:

The TV is broken.  Please talk to one another.” 

Now we have TV, FB, iPhones, and endless other digitalia to keep us from connecting face-to-face.  It’s a miracle of sorts, this Global Village.  But the real miracles and connections are more fleshy:  Families, friends, meeting a stranger. 

Still with me?  Hmmm.  Maybe you should unplug and go hug your mom, dad, sister, or brother. 

Reach out an touch someone.  For real.  

I LOVE this ranty post…  Not only does doubleX’s Samantha Henig nail it with her comments on how digi-devices detour us from driving and decorum, she articulates how they’re killing the art of the conversation, beyond just the incessant interruptions.  It happens all the time:  You’re debating when the Beatles broke up, and some Crackberry starts reciting the history of British rock.  Get a life! 

As she points out: 

Good conversations depend, at times, on some degree of ignorance and mutual discovery—piecing together theories and ideas from conversants’ collective knowledge. When the person with the fanciest phone suddenly puts all the answers on the table, it strips away much of the art—and fun—of the activity.”

Amen, sister.  Can we talk?  Just talk?  Get real and get to know each other?  Knowing factoids just cuz Wikipedia is at your fingertips does not make you smart.  Just geeky (and insecure?). 

Long live the eye-to-eye, rather than the iPhone-to-iPhone!

I may be topping off a glass that’s not even half-full.  But buried in this dreary personal wealth story are some—okay, a few—signs that Americans are learning fast during this disastrous downturn.  Can compulsive spenders change their ways?  Maybe they already are.  Check out the good news numbers, then the bad news numbers. 

The Good News! 

• Amount in savings:  $620.2 billion, the most since 1959
• Personal savings rate:  5.7%, the highest since 1995

The Bad News  :  ( 

• Personal wealth losses:  $1.3 trillion, the lowest since 2004
• U.S. stock market holdings:  Cut by more than half, peak to trough
• Collective home equity:  41.4%, the lowest since 1945
• Home value losses:  Down 32%, from peak in 2006

Now here’s the conundrum:  If we DON’T spend, the economy may not turn around, and these losses may linger or get worse.  If we DO spend, we may stop being thrifty and start ourselves back on a cycle toward another crash. 

Guess that’s why sage souls know to do everything in moderation.  (Including moderation.) 

This thoughtful commentary puts a nice philosophical spin on the rough time college grads are having finding good work.  It’s a bummer, I know:  Unemployment was around 10% when I graduated in 1983.  But now as then, life goes on.  And while few of us got career starts ASAP, we all survived and, frankly, may have had more fun.  And Zen. 

Writer Brian Till points out that less than 20% are finding jobs now, down from 51% in 2007.  The flip side?  Applications for Teach for America and the Peace Corps are way up.  And young people can consider options (and careers) for criteria other than fast-tracked financial success…

As Till sums it up,

It has given them the unapologetic opportunity to take on anything available without shame or the imperative that it be part of a broader, meticulously mapped future. For many, I contend, it might be a blessing in disguise, even a liberation.”

That’s BreakAway thinking.  Go for a life- (and world-) changing experience while you can.  The cube farm will wait. 

CultureRx is a consultancy that helps employers create a better ROWE—Results Oriented Work Environment.  Folks stuck in stodgy cube farms might lobby their firm to loosen up and give them a call.

Basically, Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler advise companies on how to improve employee results (and morale) by punting fixed schedules and mandatory meetings—and replacing them with an uber-flexible approach.  As in,

free to do whatever they want whenever they want as long as the work gets done.” 

According to this article, it seems to be working.  CultureRx is enjoying impressive growth, and landing some big-fish corporations.  The idea may not be revolutionary in these times, but making 90-degree turns in some companies may be. 

The only risk, perhaps, may be that employees become Crackberries—people who “work” on and off, all the time—and neglect free time, leisure pursuits, and personal space.  That said, let’s hope CultureRx gets a chance to give lots of stodgy workplaces to take some new medicine.  

Carleton College resides in bucolic Northfield, Minnesota—where some of us went to St. Olaf, the college on the OTHER side of the river.  Back “in the day,” we didn’t have to worry about unplugging (unless someone unplugged the fridge—horrors!).  Recently, though, three students tried life without computers.  Give them an A for effort! 

Believe it or not, they survived.  Their challenge became a one-hour documentary.  And probably an experience they’ll never forget—or repeat.  Here’s the blurb from their website…

Three college students take on the challenge of giving up their computers to see how their academic, social, and work lives are affected. No Facebook. No YouTube. No e-mail. How will they get their work done? Will they cheat? Who will survive the longest? This one-hour documentary follows Carleton College students Andrew, Caitlin, and Chel as they go through “digital detox” and learn to interact with themselves and with others in ways we have largely forgotten.” 

Do you dare to unplug? How would you fare through digital detox? Might it be time to take a tiny little tech BreakAway and find out?