Taking a Journey
Unfortunately, this past week was very much a “taking an actual trip” situation and not a “taking an emotional and spiritual journey” situation as far as Shabbat is concerned.
All of my Shabbats so far have been this way really. I’ve been away from home every weekend since I started this. Travel already messes with normal life, like your diet and your exercise schedule, so I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me how much travel messes with Shabbat too, but I did struggle with that more acutely this week.
My goal of Shabbat is to take some time to relax, step away from the craziness of normal life, and re-center myself.
What I’ve realized, though, is that unless I’m at the beach, I don’t think I ever feel truly relaxed or restful when I’m away from home. I’m very much a creature of habit and I like having my things and being in a familiar place and keeping my regular schedule, none of which is really possible when you’re out of town.
This past weekend, I was en route to Boston / in Boston for most of Shabbat. I did my packing Friday night after sundown, and I like background noise, so I ended up keeping the TV on. I set the limit that, as long as I was actually doing something, the TV could be on for noise. But “watching TV” as an actual activity was not a thing I would do. I did find that this feels like a very, very thin line though and I’m not sure entirely what it achieves...
Then, once I was in Boston, I had to use my phone for things like calling an Uber from the airport and getting in touch with people whose phone numbers I don’t have through Facebook. I did manage to schedule a couple times and places beforehand though, so I didn’t need my phone to finalize those plans, which I suppose is a start.
When I was passing time at my dad’s house though, I cracked and pulled out my phone for entertainment purposes. I only had 20 minutes or so to pass, and it’s not like I had my own things around me to find something else to do, so I kept myself occupied with Snapchat and Instagram and Facebook. Once I did that, I turned the texting on my phone back on and it kind of went downhill from there.
Alas, I feel a little lost with Shabbat after this week. Since I can’t really do the whole ‘rest and relaxation’ thing when I’m not home, should I not observe Shabbat when I’m away? Should I stick with the rules at all costs, even if it means staring at a wall or missing seeing friends because they can’t get in touch? Neither of these seem like great options.
This coming weekend, a couple different people are coming into town, but at least I’m staying here. It’ll be my first chance to experience Shabbat on a regular, home weekend. Given how often I travel though, I feel a bit uncertain about future weekends.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Admonishments?
