Digital Detox, Nature and Freedom: Rethinking Vacations to Live Better Year-Round

“Vacation means I forget everything,” as the song goes… and the delay of this editorial says it all. I felt so good that I almost disappeared — from social media, and even from my own website. A complete disconnection. Rare. Precious.

What if true luxury wasn’t what we own, but what we are willing to let go of?

Being away from our smartphones, from the endless stream of information, from the constant need to stay connected… simply to return to ourselves.

As often, I spent my time wandering through the landscapes of the Jura — a place that deeply soothes me. Forests, winding paths, quiet lakes… each step was an invitation to slow down. To breathe. To feel.

Moments like these remind me of something essential: we are meant to live in connection with nature — not to constantly endure a fast-paced lifestyle driven by productivity and performance.

Work, commute, sleep during the week. Consumption on weekends. And in between, a smartphone glued to our hands — like modern blinders capturing our attention and fragmenting our presence.

So I find myself asking a simple question.

Why do we wait for a few weeks of vacation to finally feel free?

What if the real shift was to reverse the logic? To stop building our lives around waiting — and start building them around balance.

Reduce expenses. Work less. Take back control of time. Dedicate it to what truly matters: creating, feeling, living fully. Turning freedom into a daily state, not a yearly escape.

So I wonder:

Are we really meant to spend eleven months waiting, impatiently, for five weeks of freedom?