An unemployed friend has been meeting with me once a week to work on our job searches. He has two Ivy League degrees, including a MBA, and until recently, earned six figures. I was working on my CV when I heard him call a travel agent and book a vacation.
While his circumstances differ from mine (a vacation is a major expense even when I am employed), I marveled that he could enjoy a vacation at this time. Uncertainty erodes my enjoyment of any indulgence at this time. Unsure about what the future holds, I don't want to spend money now and regret it later. When I hear about unemployed people enjoying leisure activities -- taking vacations, traveling, or enrolling in art classes -- I wonder how they can be so relaxed while unemployed.
Last week events coalesced to allow me to spend the weekend in Cape Cod. A friend was spending the month in her boyfriend's family's house in Truro. She invited me to come up for the weekend. Another friend agreed to drive me there, with many rest stops to prevent blood clotting.
I rarely step outside of New York City. Most years I leave the city two or three times. Of course, I know that the landscape is radically different outside, but each time I leave the city limits I am surprised by the environmental shift that takes place within an hour of travel time.
Traffic was thick and we had to stop often, so it took about 8 hours to get to Truro. The longer emotional distance (from feeling limited, unemployed, and depressed to feeling like a hopeful, capable person) was transversed as well.
Traveling can be an indulgence in escapism, but it also is a way to gain another perspective. It was good for me to get out of my hot, dark apartment and away from the phone that wasn't ringing and the computer that didn't have the long-awaited email message. With the environment of job seeking replaced with a cool, light, and airy environment devoted to sunbathing, conversing, and cooking, there was no option except to relax.
It was also good to be introduced to new people. While I readily acknowledged my status as an unemployed person, most of my discussions were about other topics. Conversations with New York friends tend to be about recent events, but conversations with new acquaintances tend to touch on experiences over a lifetime. It was good to focus on the overall picture rather than the recent failing.
It is a cliche, but I returned home energized and better able to focus on my search. I am so grateful that I got this chance to temporarily remove myself from the current, oppressive unemployed experience to reacquaint myself with a more carefree existence.
Posts
