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Are you experiencing burnout at work? You’re not alone. According to Deloitte’s 2018 Workplace Burnout Study, 77% of respondents say they have experienced employee burnout at their current job.

What’s the solution? Travel more!

You don’t have to go outside the country to experience the mental cleansing you need to reinvigorate your life. The United States offers over 400 National Parks and thousands of recreational and historic sites to help you disconnect from work and reconnect to life’s most beautiful features. Through the Find Your Park initiative, you can explore the wealth of history and nature around you. This was made possible through the National Park Foundation partnership with the National Park Service.

If you’re looking for one of the most environmentally sustainable National Parks, you should explore Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Subaru’s sponsorship of Don’t Feed The Landfills Initiative has helped the National Park Service eliminate over 6 million pounds of waste, ensuring that the parks remain healthy and vibrant.

Are you ready to inhale the beauty of the National Parks and conquer workplace burnout once and for all? Here’s how to get started on your journey to Grand Teton National Park.

Head To The Visitors Center

Before you get started on an adventure in Grand Teton National Park, stop by the visitor center to learn more about the best sites to explore. Opened in 2007, this visitor center is not like any other you’ve probably seen. You’ll notice videos coming out of the floor to mimic the iconic Snake Rivers and Bear country and walls filled with educational information that will connect you with the town in a new way.

Take a Hike at Jenny Lake 

If you’re looking for a rugged workout that will spoil you with breathtaking views, head on over to Jenny Lake. Jenny Lake is a starting point for many day and overnight hiking trips. This area grants you access to gorgeous district trails that meet all hiking levels. You’ll be able to walk trails along the lake to capture the most photogenic features of the outdoors. Be prepared for high elevation, steep trails, and possible signs of wildlife.

Go Rafting on the Snake River

Have you ever been river rafting before? A few hours on the river will definitely wipe away any stressful distractions that may be holding you back. The Grand Teton Lodge Company takes you on a 10-mile rafting tour on the Snake River. You’ll also receive a meal on the river before you dive into the water.

Test Your Dude Ranch Knowledge 

Work is less stressful when you can share fun facts with your colleagues. Check out the Bar BC Dude Ranch. You’ll learn about the entrepreneurial history of the old west and gain creative inspiration that will fuel your business ideas.

Walk Around the Art Gallery in Colter Bay

The Colter Bay Visitors Center is home to scenic views by Jackson Lake. You’ll be able to walk around an art gallery that features work from Native American tribes from different reservations across the U.S. Art is very therapeutic and has a way of relaxing the mind.

Find Meaning on Shadow Mountain 

When was the last time you had a chance to reflect on your life and think about your goals and aspirations? Shadow Mountain offers the perfect opportunity to do this. Just rent a powerful Subaru and you’re on your way to the top of the mountain to soak in all of the scenic views while you camp and take a break from everything going on around you.

Enjoy the Views and Activities at Spring Creek Ranch 

Stay at Spring Creek Ranch and you’ll have the opportunity to go horseback riding, enjoy the 24-hour hot tub, and eat at top restaurants such as The Granary and Amangani. You will also get a chance to stay at a modern-day townhouse ranch boasting spectacular views of the valley. The ranch also offers complimentary shuttle services to the center of the city.

Workplace burnout is impacting a lot of black professionals. If you’re experiencing workplace burnout, the most important action you can take is to take care of you. Grand Teton National Park is a perfect place to unplug and tap into the inspiration you need to balance your work-life commitments.

The moment pro-choice advocates have feared since the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh is coming. The Supreme Court has granted Certiorari – meaning it will hear the case – in the matter of June Medical Services v. Gee. This case challenges the constitutionality of a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, an issue which already came before the court barely two years ago. But a lot has changed since then, and advocates fear this may be the beginning of the end for the court’s support of a federal, constitutional right to abortion as set out in Roe. v. Wade.

June Medical Services v. Gee is a test for a so-called TRAP (Targets Restrictions Against Abortion Providers) law. These laws on their face allege to be about patient safety, but in practice place undue restrictions on abortion providers that can ultimately force them to shut down. They require clinics to have surgical suites of providers to have admitting privileges  and other such expensive and cumbersom requirements. Admitting privileges in particular are hard to obtain because they often require that the doctor admits a certain number of patients per year – and since abortion is low complication procedure, that doesn’t often happen. If all this sounds familiar it’s because these sort of laws are a common attack on abortion rights, and a nearly identical law was challenged and considered the Supreme court in 2016 in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.

In Whole Women’s Health, Justice Stephen Breyer found that the Texas law in question constituted an undue burden on the right to abortion. Breyer was using a legal standard based on what is possibly the most important abortion rights case after Roe, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. That case held that “a statute which, while furthering [a] valid state interest, has the effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman’s choice cannot be considered a permissible means of serving its legitimate ends.”

The Louisiana law at issue in June is nearly identical to the Texas law in Whole Women’s Health, so why did the Fifth Circuit court of appeals uphold the Louisiana law an ignore court precedent? Well, the Fifth Circuit held that it was somehow easier for doctors to obtain admitting privileges in Louisiana than in Texas, and that small factual difference was enough to spare the law. But the real reason is to put the issue once again before the court, nowthat the balance of power on abortion issues has shifted.

Like many controversial cases, there was a hard division in the court in Whole Women’s Health, with only five justice voting to overturn the law. One of those men was Anthony Kennedy, long seen as the last bulwark against pro-life jurisprudence and the man who Brett Kavanaugh replaced. Now that the balance of the court has shifted, anti-abortion forces are eager to begin chipping away at women’s rights. And, unles Robert or Alito surprises us, they will very likely be successful.

The most pressing question is: will the outcome of this case be a full reversal of Roe v. Wade? No; that’s very unlikely. The legal test at issue is the one outlined in Casey – what sort of restrictions can states place on the right to abortion and if they create an undue burden; not the very right to abortion itself. However, if the court goes against precedent and overturns Whole Women’s Health – as it is likely to do – it’s still very bad news for choice.

An anti-choice victory in this case will mean that states will be free to enact more and worse TRAP laws that will have the effect of shutting down abortion providers. In June, the law in question will likely lead to the closure of two out of three of Louisiana’s abortion clinics. It’s a grim future and it won’t get better, as there are more stringent laws and bigger cases on the horizon.

The most pressing is a developing case in Georgia, around the state’s “heartbeat bill,” which would ban abortions after doctors can detect a fetal heartbeat and essential stop abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Just a few days ago, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law, but this is only a temporary victory, because it puts the law in the track to the Supremes and, if the fact they are willing to even hear and consider the June case is any indication, they could be eager to reopen the Roe can of worms.

Not to be alarmist, or tell you things you already know, but this isn’t good for the right to abortion. Not only is the court now tipped against the right, most lawyers will tell you that while the outcome was correct, the legal underpinnings of Roe are shaky at best and the opinion itself is badly written. It’s rightly decided, poorly supported case and it’s extremely vulnerable.

So, is there any hope at all? Well, yes. There’s always hope, Maybe Brett Kavanugh will get impeached for lying during his confirmation. Maybe President Pelosi will do what FDR threatened to do when the Supreme court was considering undermining the new deal and simply add more justices to the bench and re-balance the court that way. In this turvy-topsy world, anything is possible. But the most important issue will remain organizing and advocating on a state level to elect local representatives who value choice and women’s health.

(image: Rena Schild/Shutterstock.com, via: Vox)

Source: vitapix / Getty

While modern dating can sometimes feel like a race to the finish line, experts and researchers advise us to take it slow.

“Slow dating,” means how it sounds–two people decide to date with a purpose and a goal in mind, without rushing through the “getting to know you” process. Some folks are turning back to ‘slow dating,’ after finding that whirlwind romances are fun, but not sustainable.

“You intentionally focus your energy on one person for an extended period of time as you gradually get to know them over the course of longer dates and over a longer period of time,”  licensed professional counselor Crystal Bradshaw said of the practice. 

In slow dating, you probably don’t jump in the sack immediately–instead you may opt to have more creative dates to get to know one another on a deeper level. This trend is becoming increasingly popular as more singles opt for quality over quantity in a sea of options.

“Many people are preferring to receive fewer matches that are quality ones over being flooded with a mass quantity of non-viable matches on some of the dating apps,”  psychologist Dr. Yvonne Thomas, Ph.D. said of the move towards “slow.”

Slow daters opt to actually “do life” together and see how it goes. They stray away from conventional dinner and drinks and actually take the time to plot out dates that help you see how someone handles different situations. It’s pretty hard to learn someone’s character if all you do is party and sex.

Bradshaw says that people who want to slow date may choose to do anything from eating at “a new restaurant to the new exhibit at the museum you’re dying to see.”

She advises people to stay away from face-to-face only dating.

“You want to be engaged in an activity, doing something new, and the conversations that you have will be about the present moment, the activity you are engaged in,” she continued.

“You’ll be surprised by the type of information you will glean from those experiences. You’ll find out things about your date that you would have never discovered doing the ‘cup of coffee’ date, drinks at a noisy bar, and sitting quietly in a movie.”