Anyone who knows me knows that I comfortably watch no less than two hours of Grey’s Anatomy daily. Not everyone completely understands my obsession; but there are the few and far in between who completely understand and would do the same if given the chance. 
Prior to taking a gap year, I never really had much time to follow TV shows but this didn’t matter as I was never a television lover. However, I now have an insane amount of free time and I happily spend a large part of it in my room watching this amazing show that never ceases to amaze me. No, this is not an article dedicated to my Grey’s obsession; please don’t stop reading. Nonetheless, the obsession did indeed spark the idea for this article as it got me to thinking; why exactly do I spend so much time watching this show? After some serious self- reflection amidst the concerns of worried friends I figured it out. Grey’s Anatomy is my escape.
Famous American poet, Robert Frost (if you aren’t familiar with him, stop reading and go Google his poetry) wrote ‘Birches’ in 1915; a poem that deeply touched me when I studied it some years ago. Frost says:
‘So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood…
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.’
In these few lines he likens a ‘swinger of birches’ to someone who likes to escape to Neverland for a while when life gets a bit too difficult. We usually hear that escape is for the weak. We liken it to running away, rather than solving the problem. However, I beg to differ. I am in no way supporting the idea of permanently escaping by leaving your life in shambles and ignoring reality while living in Neverland, but I do think temporary escape is sometimes completely necessary. Let’s face it, life is not easy, and as we get older more problems arise. Like Frost says, sometimes life seems like a ‘pathless wood’. We’re faced with difficult situations, forced to make important decisions, people hurt us, loved ones die, school sucks and the list continues.
If we insist on facing these issues head on every single day, without any possible means of escape, life will be sure to serve us a complete nervous breakdown. In this way, temporary escape is a good idea and something which may be quite necessary for most of us.
Escaping sometimes helps you to calm down and clear your head in the midst of anger, helps you make rational decisions or just gives you the ability to deal with reality when you have to come back from your temporary stay in Neverland. Sometimes, after your trip you are able to look at something that was a huge problem before you departed, and see it differently, which in turn leads to you dealing with it in a more positive way. Escaping can also make you a happier, saner person, as a little escape from reality never hurt anyone; we all need a break at times.
What we need to ensure however is that our means of escape is not unhealthy or detrimental in any way. There is no clear definition of what an escape should be; it can range from reading, sports or television to singing, liming with friends or some special time with your significant other. It is basically anything that you enjoy doing that isn’t going to make the problem worse. For some, drugs, sex or alcohol may be their escape as it helps them escape reality in a very real sense for some time. While this may help persons cope with their issues, it can also create other issues so we have to be careful about what exactly we use as a means of escape.
Also important is knowing when to snap back into reality and deal with the problems that you temporarily escaped. Overdoing a temporary escape is never good as while we ride ponies and dance on rainbows in Neverland, back in reality all our issues remain and sometimes even worsen. There is no standard period of time that one should stay in Neverland and I do believe that most of us know when it’s time to pack up and come back to reality, refreshed and ready to deal with our issues.
Regardless of who we are or where we come from, life is not an easy journey. However, there are certain concepts that can facilitate the journey and escape is just one of these. Temporary escape is quite important and should be a personal thing, as whichever way in which we choose to escape, should be done with our best interest at heart, while being something we genuinely enjoy. Once we are able to find our escape and use it when we need to, while also knowing when to come back to reality, we find that being a swinger of birches and vacationing in Neverland every now and again makes life a bit more enjoyable.
Photo Credit
Birch Tree – Creative Commons by Roger Kidd
Guest Author Bio
Paige-Jennan Andrew
I’m way too excited about life … I can’t exist without paper, pen and God. Writing is my passion … changing my world one day at a time 🙂
I believe in making a difference and leaving your mark everywhere you go!
Don’t Complain … Don’t Compare … Don’t Worry
Live! Love!
Blog / Website: http://pgsoflife.blogspot.com/
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