Rebooting my life with a birthday retreat

With every birthday, I feel the need to get away from it all and have a quiet retreat.  A sure sign of aging or maybe just getting more consciously in tune with myself where I look forward to recharge my body, mind and soul. Though I may be approaching 40, I’ll like to think I have many more years ahead of me.

Alexis being the ever sweet hubby took leave on my birthday and booked us a massage at Elements Wellness which comes with the private use of an onsen. Yes, a couple onsen so I don’t have to go butt naked on my hatch day with other ladies. 

According to their website, they claimed that an onsen therapy had anti-aging and detoxification effect thanks to the ionized water used. While I’m skeptical of these claims, I can however testify that it worked wonders for stress relief and eased our bodies of the aches from spending long hours in front of the computer and getting us prepped for a massage that follows.

The afternoon of pampering was a relaxing experience and I even fell asleep as the masseuses did their magic and skillfully kneaded away all my aches and pain where I left feeling absolutely invigorated and refreshed. 

The next day we checked into Village Hotel Changi for the long Labour Day weekend. Changi was the perfect staycation destination, away from the hustle and bustle of our modern city life and fitted my criteria for a hotel close to nature. Oh and lots of options for good food never hurts too.

We spend the next 3 days swimming, taking walks at Changi beach, going to the playground, cycling in Palau Ubin, basking in nature and just doing what we often fail to do – doing nothing.

It felt so freeing and liberating not to have any agenda planned for the day.

We were not rushing anywhere.

We were not trying to tick things off the to do list.

We walked with less hurried footsteps and allowed ourselves to just stop and appreciate all that was around us. From the clear blue skies that transformed into a golden hue at the magic hour, to the laughter of kids at the playground. I watched the waves rolling in and then gently ebbing away and along with it, my heaviness was exchanged for a certain lightness in spirit.

It felt so relaxing and energising at the same time and I wondered why I haven’t given myself the freedom to do a reboot more often.

A reboot of my life where I can get disconnected and recalibrated. A reboot where I get recentered by what matters.

But it’s not too late to discover what I can do to take care of my well being and water my soul.

Life shouldn’t just be about getting by. But more often than not, in our pursuit to make a living, we fail to make a life worth living. I’ll like to think that my best years are still ahead of me and that I can still shape and mould what I want my future to be.

Ending this post with a tale of two wolves which I read from Thrive by Arianna Huffington, a book that I highly recommend for anyone who is looking to redefine your life to take it onward and upward.

Tale of two wolves

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

 

 

Tagged: Birthday, Changi beach, Pulau Ubin, Staycation