Officiating My Sabbatical

I want my instincts back.

As primal as that may sound, it is something I want to unleash.

I’ve had enough of my head and the many conflicted details it absorbs.

It has been an amazing 5 months giving my 5 senses a chance to tell me directly what it wants without having to pass through a confusing mind filtration process.

I’ll be backpacking in April from Bangkok to Laos, and resting in a little fishing village called Siraya in Ko Lanta Yai, Thailand. I’m planning to rent a place in Siraya for a couple of weeks. If funds permit, longer still.

Here is a little of what my cousin wrote to me about Siraya,

“We lived in a little fishing village called Siraya in Ko Lanta Yai. It is also called "old town". It is beautiful there! The people there are lovely and so are the children. If you want to be there, it is a good idea. You will have time to reflect and relax and disconnect from negative energies. Heal before proceeding. Heal so you may once feel and think about yourself again. When you arrive there, you can look up our friends and ask them where you can rent a house or room to live in. There are some foreigners there already, not many, a few, mainly from the US and Canada.”

Life in Siraya is very simple but beautiful. Only the basic necessities but good for the soul. Like a kampung in Malaysia but a bit gentler, I think. Once you are there, you can rent a boat to go out to the islands beyond which as not touristy at all. There is Ko Po right across which is still completely virgin although 85% of the island has been sold for resorts. Better see it before it goes. There is a boatman called Sunny who drives the children from Ko Po to Siraya for school – he is like the bus driver, well boat driver. He has an organization to try and preserve Ko Po. Ask him to give you a tour of Ko Po before it vanishes.”

If such a trip resonates with you, do give me a call or email me. We’ll meet and explore the details.

Please feel free to join me at any point – the backpacking in Laos, the relaxing couple of weeks at Siraya, or both.

Sabbatical - Definition from Various Website Sources.

“Sabbatical – A holiday, a vacation, or otherwise known as time off.”

“Sabbatical – a period of reflection, rest, and renewal.”

“A sabbatical is an extended period of time for reflection, rest, and renewal. They frequently become a path to understanding one’s vocation in new ways or as a vehicle for a transformed sense of identity. Some travel, experience different cultures, learn new skills, or spend time reading during a sabbatical. It is also possible to think of even doing something like a semi-monastic retreat. This is a time to experience “being” in addition to “doing”; it should be a time of freedom and authenticity. One of the goals of a sabbatical is to return renewed and refreshed.

Being away provides both the space and the time for renewal, rest, and reflection.

In some countries sabbatical is a system whereby they allow their employees to take an extended period of leave above their usual holiday allowance - with the guarantee that their job will be held open for them when they return.

The usual length of a sabbatical is a year.

If a sabbatical is paid it's likely that the employer will expect the employee to use the sabbatical to develop their career in some way - by gaining relevant work experience abroad.

The concept of offering a sabbatical has become increasingly popular amongst companies and employers because of the fact that such a high percentage of people these days opt for a career break at some point. By allowing their staff to take a sabbatical for their career break companies benefit because they are not losing valuable employees in the long term.”