It’s that time of the year again, at least in my part of the world. It’s called holiday season, some call it vacation, some annual leave. I like all three of these words:

HOLIDAY = A couple of Holy Days away from everyday life and stress and worries and troubles, or – if you have no troubles – simply a holy time out.

VACATION = A couple of Vacant Days, vacant of everyday life and stress and worries and troubles.

ANNUAL LEAVE = The time of the year when you are able and allowed to leave it all behind, leave everyday life and stress and worries and troubles simply be. In German we say “Den Herrgott einen guten Mann sein lassen.”

That’s where I’m heading: My annual leave time, holy days with family and without digital devices or at least online services, my time that is vacant of what is “normal” – a time that is needed to reboot, to fuel offline thoughts, experience new, non-transmedia stories, stories that will lead to new stories when I re-enter the normality sphere again.

And my time to thank God or this Herrgott (or whoever that is watching over us, but I tend to call him / her that based on a lack of alternatives, or is it just a habit?) that I am in the fortunate position to be able to actually have a normality to leave behind for another holiday-vacation-leave anormality. In times when there are wars raging in over 45 countries on this planet, senseless, meaningless wars that leave behind so many people who would give their lives to experience my normality, the normality I’m fleeing from right now.

It’s a cruel world. Not much I can do about it from here, but it does help to bring everyday life and stress and worries and troubles into perspective. Sure, everything is relative, but still.

I know that I can be happy to be allowed to be happy and healthy – and able to experience stories that are not life-threatening dramas.

Thank you.

Happy Holidays!

Celebrate!