TLDR: Summer can be overwhelming, so lean into what makes you happy. You deserve to feel good. Follow your curiosity, try something new. Drink water and rest without guilt!
Summer is officially here, can you feel it?
Summer is the season of fire, and here in Seattle it felt like a switch was flipped. It’s now hot and bright and the days are sooooo long. Summer is my favorite season. School is out, and I just wanna have fun.
Honestly, a huge reason I became a teacher was to have summers off. I have a visceral memory of one temp job I was working during the summer at the University of Washington. I was helping out in the billing/insurance area of the anesthesia department. We were in an internal office right off of the surgery center. There were no windows as the office was buried deep in the belly of the hospital. While I enjoyed the company of my co-workers and was glad for the job, something inside of me was screaming. I remember looking down at the stack of papers and I had just alphabetized and thinking to myself “F**k it, I’m going to be a teacher!” I started looking at programs that night and soon after enrolled in a master’s program to start that fall. Even the promise of summers off in the future raised my spirits.
That’s the flavor of summer… “F**k it!” Summer is a time of action. What have you been waiting to do? Summer might be the time to start.
Since most people do continue with their responsibilities during the summer, the question is: how do you allow your fire to burn free and bright during this season while maintaining your responsibilities and not burning yourself out?
It’s a time when the sun is closest to us, which prompts the plants to release their flowers, and the whole cycle of life is busy busy busy. There can be an energy also of go go go. Make the most of it! Pressure to get outside, to not miss out. FOMO can be high. So how do we stay calm and cool in the midst of the fire?
Fire needs to have water nearby, to bring soothing and calming. Fire needs a steady but small stream of air to burn for fuel. And fire needs a container, some structure in which to burn without destroying everything around it.
I suggest:
Keeping a close eye on your relationship with media - be vigilant on who and what you let in.
Water in all forms - drink it, swim in it, look at it, water your plants, and also pay attention to your emotions. Are you really doing what you want to be doing, or are you motivated by a need to please or perform?
Create a solid foundation by feeding yourself well, resting without guilt, and creating time to nourish yourself.
Try something new! Summer is the perfect time to flip up old routines, even if it means taking a new route to work. Go on an artist date with yourself (or someone who likes to wander aimlessly and look closely). Take pictures of things that inspire you.
Take time to feel the gratitude for what and who is in your life.
Also, take advantage of the fire season to BURN DOWN WHAT YOU NO LONGER WANT OR NEED.
We all need this after the last 18 months. The anxiety of living through a pandemic, the constant questioning of every decision, very real fear for our lives and confronting deep injustice. The beauty of humans is our adaptability. We can survive under the most extreme circumstances, but the danger of this is that we come to believe things are “normal” or “acceptable” that aren’t.
Use this summer energy to take a look at what is truly no longer serving you, and throw it in the fire, Marie Kondo style, thank it for it’s service, pitch it and enjoy watching it burn.
If you’re wondering how to do that, let me know. My course Elemental Magic can guide you through assessing what is no longer needed, and to help you create personal processes for burning away the old, creating conditions for what’s next and dreaming up the future.