{"id":1723,"date":"2015-07-12T20:05:08","date_gmt":"2015-07-12T20:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1723"},"modified":"2015-07-12T20:06:49","modified_gmt":"2015-07-12T20:06:49","slug":"chronic-illness-the-non-vacation-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/07\/chronic-illness-the-non-vacation-vacation.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Illness: The Non-Vacation Vacation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of ArvindBalaraman\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I asked my eye doc if she was going on vacation this summer. She said she couldn’t, but she’d live vicariously through her patients who could.<\/p>\n

This got me to thinking about \u00a0how, if we’re too sick to travel, or don’t have the time or money to go on a real vacation, we might fashion one of our own – right at home. More than a “stay-cation,” we could create an environment where we’re enjoying some of the benefits of beach, mountains, sun or sand, but not physically going through the rigors of travel, with all of its intended or unintended hassles.<\/p>\n

Right now, for example, I’m playing a CD of Hawaiian music, enjoying the different sounds that evoke those beautiful islands far away. Sipping a fruity beverage can enhance this feeling, as can gentle movement to the music.<\/p>\n

If island vacations aren’t your preference, what about mindful meditation that takes you to the slope of a lush mountainside, or the banks of a skippingly cheerful forest river? Or, the mental stimulation you can achieve by diving full-on into historic places, letting yourself mentally walk the road trodden by Christ, paint the chapel ceiling like Michaelangelo, or even take the adventuresome sea voyage of a Cousteau or Vikings from time long ago.<\/p>\n

My doctor’s comment about living vicarious through her patients is another option – if you have friends who are going on vacation, invite them to give details, with images from pictures of vidoes, or their time away.<\/p>\n

Above all, what we who are home-bound do not want to fall into is the envy trap; getting wrapped up in the, “Poor me, I can’t go anywhere or do anything this summer.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I asked my eye doc if she was going on vacation this summer. She said she couldn’t, but she’d live vicariously through her patients who could. This got me to thinking about \u00a0how, if we’re too sick to travel, or don’t have the time or money to go on a real vacation, we might fashion…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[360,43,1242,4,1245,1421,208,1,1246],"tags":[1794,1792,1793,1791],"class_list":["post-1723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-determination","category-encouragement-in-life","category-food-for-thought","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-positive","category-take-some-time-to-rest","category-thanksgiving","category-uncategorized","category-uplifting","tag-chronic-illness-and-vacation","tag-if-you-cant-go-on-vacation","tag-summer-vacations","tag-vacations-for-the-homebound"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Illness: The Non-Vacation Vacation - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/07\/chronic-illness-the-non-vacation-vacation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Illness: The Non-Vacation Vacation - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I asked my eye doc if she was going on vacation this summer. She said she couldn’t, but she’d live vicariously through her patients who could. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1724,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1723\/revisions\/1724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}