The Power of Taking A Break

Labor Day in the United States is a holiday that marks the end of summer for many, but it was originally intended to celebrate the working class in the late 1800’s.

I’m sure anyone who was alive back then would be amazed to see how we can now connect with someone on the other side of the planet at the speed of light.

My 3 year-old squeals with delight at the sight of the Netflix logo on my iPad, knowing he can connect with Mickey Mouse in seconds.

Even I squealed with delight the first time I saw actors connecting with my work from India, South Africa, Australia and other countries around the world.

And yet, how connected are we with what is right in front of us?

All of this fast-paced technology in the palm of our hand can get addicting + distracting if we don’t know how to take a real break from “virtually connecting” to really connect.

Add to that, an intense ambition or drive to succeed, and you can find it hard to know when or even how to “take a break.”  As actors, we can always be working on improving “something.”

And now, taking a break, means checking Facebook or looking at your phone.

So just for a day, I propose that we take all…

Take a break.

Put down the phone.

Look up.

Connect.

Smile.

Notice human behavior.  

Simply breathe.

Take in nature.

Say hello to a stranger.

And for those of us who take pictures today, maybe just for a day, we can all take a break from posting “what we did on our break” on social media and then checking back again + again to see the comments, likes + retweets we’ve received.

What will all this guide us to do?

1) Notice what is right in front of us…for real.
2) Be in the present moment.  (P.S. That’s where all your power is + where your best acting lives too!)
3) Slow down the speed of life.

And at the end of the day, you just may find yourself connecting with the (immediate) world around you deeper than you ever have before.

I’ll be at the beach today, playing with two people who have mastered the art of living in the present moment, my children.  They are my best teachers.

And, just for today, I will not be posting pictures of us boogie boarding on Facebook.  Instead, I will simply be connecting with what is right in front of me.

Here’s to all of us taking a real break.

Love + Gratitude,

P.S. My friend, Gary Kosman, CEO of America Learns  was asked to speak at Northwestern University. His speech speaks volumes about how our intense drive to succeed can actually destroy us if we don’t find harmony + balance in our lives.
So worth watching! Watch it here.