Tired of the Long Winter? Spice up Your Mind and Think Paradise

16Oct09

Published April 7, 2008 by The Sherbrooke Record

Enjoy a virtual mini-vacation on the isle of Zanzibar!

Throughout the ages, people from all over the world have commented on the beneficial effects of travelling. As Daniel Drake sums it up in The Western Medical and Physical Journal of 1827: “among the therapeutic agents not to be found bottled up and labelled on our shelves is travelling; a means of prevention, of cure, and of restauration which has been famous in all ages”.

Chances are, however, that you may not have been able to escape the snow and recharge your batteries elsewhere during this long winter. So what if I take you virtually by the hand and lift your spirits through a mental mini-vacation, live from spice island Zanzibar? The technique of guided imagery – consciously directing people’s way of thinking through powerful images and use of the senses – has, after all, already been practiced for a long time by many different cultural groups, including the Navajo, the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Chinese, especially during difficult periods in people’s lives. So, lean back, take a deep breath, and picture yourself in…………………….

your own thatched roofed Robinson Crusoe treehouse, on a lush green island, set in a ring of white sand, in the middle of the Indian Ocean. You have just woken up from a very restful sleep in your comfortable four-poster bed, and watch the first sunrays slowly appear at the pink horizon in front of you. Then, there is suddenly a glowing orange ball, climbing higher and higher in the blue sky, and casting its reflection on the glittering turqoise water below. A soft morning breeze slightly touches your cheek, and all you can hear are the sounds of crickets, birds, and the gently rolling waves of the ocean, beckoning you to enter the luminescent water. It is only a few steps to the ocean through the fine, cool sand, so white it nearly blinds you, and soon you are surrounded by the tepid, crystal-clear water, like in a jacuzzi……..

In the meantime, your breakfast is served on the beach, and a rich platter of tropical fruits, picked minutes ago from nearby trees, is awaiting you. Taste that perfectly ripe passion fruit, that juicy mango, that snow-white lychee! Afterwards, you may walk through a leafy spice plantation where nutmeg, vanilla, cacao, and cloves are growing, or you wander along the vast, deserted beach searching for rare shells. Or maybe you take that small wooden boat to reach the reefs and lagoons where you can snorkel with the most spectacular tropical fish.

In the warm afternoon, you lazily rest with a cool drink in your hammock, in the shade of the swaying coconut trees that fringe the coastline, and you watch the tides change, the traditional dhows with their shark-fin sails skim the waves, or the fishermen return home with their catch of the day. Or do you prefer to simply dream away on the daybed of your breezy veranda? Ah, the luxury of not having to think of anything in particular, and let all your stress and worries evaporate! At night, under a sky of a million stars, your host will grill fresh fish for you, caught in the ocean that same day, at his little beach banda romantically lit by the flickering light of a few kerosene lamps……..

Of course, imagination does not equal reality, and you may now envy me ferociously. Let me therefore, as slight consolation, reveal the other side of the coin: the path of a true adventurer is definitely not only strewn with roses, but rather leads through valleys and over mountain tops where one is invariably met by the trials and tribulations that come with each territory. But why dwell on misfortunes once in paradise? Besides, even when in dire straits, it always helps to bring to mind inspiring words of those in far worse circumstances, like those of Anne Frank who wrote in her famous diary “think of all the beauty that’s still left in and around you, and be happy”. And does the tormented protagonist Elijah in The fifth mountain by Paulo Coelho not exclaim convincingly “all life’s battles teach us something, even those we lose….tragedies do happen, and so be it. From there onward, we must put aside the fear that they awoke in us and begin to rebuild”?

So, at the end of a long odyssey full of hurdles, bliss, and lessons learned, rebuilding at home it soon will be. But knowing all too well that I was fortunate enough to leave most of this winter’s white stuff and frozen pipes in the hands of helpful others, and that spring is just around the corner, my mind will simply hold on a little bit longer to these magic moments on exotic Zanzibar. It all comes down to putting things into proper perspective. For in the valley, the mountains seem insurmountable, but once on high, you can see everything else as small. If anything, that’s the beauty of travelling: upon return being able to see life as you thought you knew it – that very point of departure you tried to escape for a while – in a fresh light and from a different, often more advantageous angle. The Dutch, already for centuries a travel-mad nation like no other, frequently use the saying “you may travel East or West, but home is best”. And a Chinese proverb claims that “the person who returns from a journey is never the same person who left”. May all that old wisdom also be true for your brief, virtual journey!

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