A sequence of seven images showing a dinner party, joined hands, a person in a hat, a picture frame, lemon juice, a bun.

P2YL | 61. Greetings from Greece

Katrina Robinson • 7 August 2026

How a little philosophical thinking helped the holiday blues

I love ‘fly and flop’ holidays, like the one from which we’ve just returned, but lying on the beach or beside a pool, an unwelcome thought often pops into my head:

‘Is that woman’s body better than mine?’

The male version of this, according to my husband, is:

‘Well, my stomach’s not as big as that fella’s.’

Doesn’t that sum up the difference in confidence-levels between the sexes when it comes to physical appearance?

But such thoughts are fleeting, because being in the midst of people and couples of various ages and various body-shapes enjoying themselves proves:

You don't need a perfect body to look attractive to others.

Sudden inspiration in the Single Meals aisle

The obviousness of this was pointed out to me by a writer on dating during those long years of thinking I must lack appeal because my husband had dumped me.

Go to any supermarket, she said, and see the couples doing the weekly shop.

They’re not drop-dead gorgeous, are they? — most of us are pretty average — yet don’t they all look quite contentedly coupled-up?

The next time I went to Sainsbury’s I looked around and saw she was right.

I’ve never looked back from that observation.

I realised I stood as good a chance as anybody else of finding committed love.

When bad memories intrude

I enjoy my life and had a good time on holiday, but you and I both know that painful memories of the past can still strike and niggle away at contentment.

It’s because we’re not shallow and honestly who wants to be shallow?

Gazing out across the Ionian Sea I suddenly remembered with a stab of pain a plan my ex-husband had all those years ago to buy a share in a boat and use it as a holiday-base for exploring the Greek islands together.

The 'flip it' philosophy

When thoughts like this attack me I’ve realised that’s the little devil on my shoulder talking, whether metaphorical or not, and its aim is to hurt and disrupt.

I don’t want to give time and attention to its whispering malice.

So I flip it.

I turn away mentally,

smile physically,

and express gratitude spiritually.

With my belief system, that’s means saying ‘Thank you, God, so much for [whatever good things I have now in my life]’.

Other people will have their own beliefs and their own way of expressing it.

‘Plant your standard in the garden of contentment — firmly’

But the very act of intentionally turning away from the memory, purposely expressing gratitude, and deliberately curving your lips into a smile is like firmly planting your standard in the garden of contentment.

It’s a goal scored against the dark side.

Then up and away to other things. No brooding.

The 'control what you can' philosophy

‘How would it be…hypothetically speaking…if we went home a day or two early?’

I didn’t utter these words on holiday but I did mull them over one night because although there were things I loved about the resort, there were also enough persistent pinpricks to cause discomfort.

I held back and employed a little more philosophy to decide the best way to handle this.

I certainly didn’t want to hurt and cause trouble for my husband who had nothing to do with any holiday shortcomings and who was enjoying relaxing in the sun.

Holiday dilemmas

The free version of ChatGPT on my phone can be an unexpectedly useful resource at times likes this.

Its hive-mind draws on a lot of existing information and its feedback struck me as sensible:

| In a situation like this, don’t ask yourself ‘how can I force myself to feel completely differently?’ but ‘how can I make tomorrow less uncomfortable?’ |

This approach struck me as a more practical and probably more successful way of handling discomfort.