Let Go

Imagine bringing your children to possibly the world's most scenically diverse island, with stunning lake views and lovely lodgings. Everything is perfect until your kid starts to worry and whisper, "Mum and dad, when will we have to check out?"

Unfortunately, neither kids nor grown-ups are immune to the end-of-the-holiday worries. My daughter just asked me the same question last night.

For those of you who have children and when it's close to the end of summer holiday, this should be pretty familiar. If you don't have kids, well, think about Garfield and his famous Monday blues - and dare I say, yours too.

I'm glad to have read the Search Inside Yourself chapter on letting go near the end of my New Zealand holiday. Wilting flowers do not cause suffering, as Chade-Meng Tan reminds us; it is the unrealistic desire that flowers not wilt that causes suffering.

Let go. Check out. I told myself.