Motivational Mondays: My Mini-Mini Subtropical Summer Vacation (and How You Can Get Yours, Too)

A lot of motivation is to help people keep going, keep striving, keep pushing -- and all that has its place.

But here's some motivation to get the rest we all need, even if it is only for a moment on a corner you've passed a hundred times before.

While walking through my city I have passed this particular corner many times. It has a unique feature because of San Francisco's unique weather; the summer fog and heavy sea breeze can have this city being the fifth coldest city in the world even accounting for the fact that the Southern Hemisphere is actually in winter while it is summer here.

But on days on which the fog is thin and the sun's warmth can be felt through it, a spot out of the wind can begin to feel subtropical -- warm and humid, and there are some spots in the city in which subtropical plants can be grown successfully for this reason. We call these realities "microclimates," and they are why I have eaten actual bananas out of Golden Gate Park by Blue Heron Lake on warm days even in January.

But also, certain corners, because of the way the houses are situated, can become a micro-micro climate. So on my way home from some business I had in San Francisco's famous Haight Street, I obeyed the command to STOP and pay attention, and walked into a little subtropical paradise.

This blew my mind for a little while ... how many times, in a hurry to get here and there, had I not seen this becoming a thing? These plants did not just magically appear overnight, but they did require me to pay attention in order to stand out of the wind, under a silver-veiled sun, and be transported for a moment to a warmer clime and place and time in my imagination ... a place of peace and sweet aromas and flavors and sights and sounds and experiences ... a mini-mini subtropical vacation in the midst of life.

Now, don't misunderstand me. Three steps down, there was the reminder behind the beauty that I was literally not more than six feet from the street...

But the point is even more made by that: not six feet from the street, this blessing was waiting on me to stop and enjoy it, and not only waiting on me, but anyone and everyone who would be led as I was. Totally free. Totally available. It was all up to me to take the time to enjoy it.

It is Monday. Many of us are or will be in the middle of the workaday world. But even in the middle of the workaday world, Creation is beautiful ... if you can find a place to just stop, enjoy, and breathe, even if only for a few minutes, you too might find yourself some mini-mini vacations to encourage you as we all do the going, striving, and pushing that it takes for us on the other side of life. And, if you can't get to one today, I brought mine here to share with you!