ADAM OLSEN -- So here I am back at it. Refreshed and reinvigorated with a keen sense of purpose to serve the people and place we love

A former boss of mine would always remind us as we were heading out the door to go on vacation that we should actually vacate. It’s encouragement to leave the work behind, not just the office. Step away physically and mentally. Break the routine and clear the cache.

The internet turns up a couple of definitions for “vacation.” The first is “a holiday” the second is “the action of leaving something one previously occupied.”

This work can be all consuming. It’s quite easy for the work to overwhelm me and if I let it, work can become the only thing that occupies me.

I remember when I was being recruited to run in the 2008 Central Saanich municipal election, I was told that the job was about 15 hours a week. Well, it has always been way more than that. Being an MLA is even way more than being in municipal politics because I dive deep into things and care deeply about people and the future of our world.

Ever since my first election, I have been learning how to assign the appropriate amount of urgency or priority on the work or an issue. Especially since each one flows to me and through me with exigency.

Reset, refresh, reinvigorate

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been at home with Emily, Silas, Ella and Tui. It wasn't a lavish holiday, just quality time with the people I love in the place I love.

While I’ve continued to pay attention to the world around me and write about it each day, the most important thing I’ve done is calm my mind, stretch my body, and fill my spirit with the joy and love of my family. I’m humbled by my blessed and privileged existence and will use this understanding to fuel my work to create a more just, equitable, loving, kind and compassionate society.

On Sunday afternoon, my calendar notifications on my device began to remind me that it’s my vacation that was the thing that was most recently occupying me — the thing that I was soon to be vacating.

So here I am back at it. Refreshed and reinvigorated with a keen sense of purpose to serve the people and place we love, our home in the most amazing place on Earth, the Salish Sea.

Thank you for giving me the space to take a little break. I look forward to connecting with you!

Adam Olsen ... is a Green Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Saanich North and the Islands. Born in Victoria, BC in 1976, Adam has lived, worked and played his entire life on the Saanich Peninsula.

He is a member of Tsartlip First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP), where he and his wife, Emily, are raising their two children, Silas and Ella.