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| Ben and May researching crime rates in Mexico. |
Ben and May both have months of accrued vacation time at their jobs. They work long hours, in addition to their many volunteer activities. Burnout set in a long time ago, and they both acknowledge that a vacation is needed, now more than ever.
The problem begins when they sit down to make a plan. May has relatives she'd love to visit in New Jersey. Ben, on the other hand, does not want to spend his first vacation in ten years with May's family, let alone in New Jersey. "Why not Hawaii,?" he suggests, to which May replies, "We were just in Hawaii ten years ago!"
Both Ben and May would like to travel to Mexico, but are put off by the crime statistics. "What about Ireland instead,?" offers May. "Everyone who goes there loves it." Ben is not convinced. "Yeah, but everyone's not vegan, and we are. We'll starve in Ireland!"
After about an hour of discussion, they both feel exhausted and frustrated. "Planning a vacation is just too much work!," they decide, and put off the decision for a future time.
Meanwhile, Ben and May's friends and co-workers are beginning to express alarm. "I'm afraid Ben is about ready to pop," says his best friend, Chris, " He practically had a nervous breakdown last week when we got to the movies late and missed the advertisements at the beginning." May's co-workers have noticed that she's been staying at work late, staring at her computer screen. "It wouldn't be so concerning," they said, "if the computer was actually on."
Because coming to an agreement is so difficult, Ben and May have considered writing all their suggestions on pieces of paper and picking randomly out of a hat. Unfortunately, they can't decide which hat to use. Will it be Ben's French beret or May's Oakland A's baseball cap? Decisions, decisions.
Written by Diana Shapiro
photo courtesy of powercoupleblueprint.com
Let them focus on the needs of other people and do acts of kindness and arouse compassion. As you know " to be happy practice compassion". Then they do not need to go anywhere and they will be happy in place. Point out to them that this week is national Random Acts of Kindness Week.
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