Opinion: What'd you do with your summer vacation?

The health insurance debate rages on with town hall meetings, public options, death panels and politics as usual.

What does any of this have to do with healthy living? Yes, we need insurance reform, and yes, we need to address what we will and won't pay for. In the meantime, we can impact our health by making better decisions and taking personal responsibility.

Addictions will kill us. If you weigh too much, drink heavily and smoke, you are going to get sick.

Stress will kill us. If you regularly boil over with frustration and rage, get red in the face and forget to breathe, you are going to get sick.

Why not take a vacation? Your health depends on it.

I was fortunate enough to take a vacation in Italy this summer. Right before we left the U.S., I arranged to have my smartphone upgraded to work with European phone and Internet providers. I didn't want to be out of touch!

Once I got to Italy, none of it worked. I panicked for about five minutes. Then, I got a grip. Am I so darn important that the world will stop spinning if I can't check my voice messages for two weeks? No. Everyone will be fine. But what if the team burns the place down while I am gone? We get to start over fresh, and that could solve a lot of problems, frankly.

So I dropped the self-importance, and picked up the present moment. I visited with my family without looking at the clock on my phone (which was stuck on 7:42 Missour-ah time). We strolled (no power walking) on thousand-year-old cobblestones. We stayed up late and slept in. We watched electrical storms move from one end of the horizon to the other. We looked at sculptures and paintings and architecture. I even tried out my few Italian words, and experienced the warmth of the lovely, Italian people. It was incredible.

Italians eat wonderful food, fresh and perfectly prepared. They sip wine and lots of water during leisurely meals. You don't see very many overweight people.

And they express themselves! If they are angry or happy, you know it.

Are they healthier? According to 2009 estimates in the CIA World Fact Book and reported by CNN in June, Italy ranks fourth in worldwide life expectancy with an average life span of 82 years. The same report ranks the U.S. 50th with an average life span of 78.1 years.

Perhaps it's the Italian lifestyle. Perhaps it's because they take vacations. Most Italians take four to six weeks paid vacation every year.

See? You must punch out now and then, for your physical and mental health. Did you take some time off this summer? No? Pull out your calendar and block out some time.

A vacation - for an afternoon or a month - is a sorbet for the mind. It's a chance for your soul to expand and create. It's a time for your body to stretch and engage, to breathe and relax.

One of the issues with this health care debate is "end-of-life counseling." Why not engage in some of this with yourself right now?

Imagine the end of your life. It is going to happen. We are all going to die. If that day were today, would you be proud of what you have accomplished? Would you be filled with regret, awe or enthusiasm? Would you embrace death or fight it with every available cell and cent? Would you delight in a life well lived?

As Tim McGraw says, "Someday, I hope you'll get the chance ... to live like you were dying."Ellen Rohr is an author and business consultant who offers systems for getting focused and organized, making money and having fun in business. Her latest book is "The Bare Bones Biz Plan." She can be reached at contact@barebonesbiz.com.