As I pondered that image, which I saw repeatedly during our week on Maui, I was reminded that it's good for us to regularly slip beneath the surface in our lives and businesses too. I find when I've been spending too much time in the hurry-scurry whirl of networking meetings and social activities, or dealing with superficialities, or simply not having enough fun, it's time to make like a whale and dive.

Perhaps that's what vacations are all about, dropping out of sight for a while to catch our breath. But I've become convinced that we need to dive below the surface more than once or twice a year. I think we actually need regular periods where we're inaccessible...no phones, no email, no PDA's...simply time to ourselves to go deep and reconnect to what nurtures and restores us. And for many of us, we may need that "below the surface" time to rediscover what does nurture and restore us.

This week, ask yourself, "When was the last time I slipped quietly out of sight for a breather?" If the answer is: "Never", or "I can't remember when," then you may want to go deeper and ask, "Why not? What's stopping me?"

Here are some possible answers/excuses that may surface:

"I can't leave my business or something might happen!"

"If I'm not always out there beating the bushes for new clients, someone else will be and I'll lose out."

"I just can't sit still." "The minute I try to get quiet my mind goes crazy and I just can't turn off my thinking."

"They really need me to do ________________, so I can't just leave."

"My office insists that I be accessible at all times in case someone needs to reach me."

Maybe you have a different reason or a variation of one of the well-worn excuses above. Truth is, we set up the operating conditions of our lives and businesses, so if you've created one of the situations above, and you feel the tug to experience something more nurturing or balanced in your life, you can do that too.

Perhaps for you, getting below the surface is about pulling back on volunteer commitments; maybe it's investing your energies in more creative pursuits, or it really is about scheduling and taking that long overdue vacation, dropping out of circulation for several days or even a couple of weeks. What would it look like and how would you spend your "below the surface" time?

This week I challenge you to give this idea of slipping beneath the surface some serious consideration. If humpback whales can drop out of sight for a few moments of tranquility without the ecosystem collapsing, then make no mistake you and I can too. Give yourself permission to go deep in some way this week. The world will still be here when you return, but you will very likely be different than when you left. You'll never know until you slip away....quietly, without a ripple.

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in."
~~Anonymous