Hello! Historically, the summer has been a difficult time for me. I’ve often experienced summers where it feels like things in my life aren’t moving. When my perceived summer slow down happens, I find myself reacting from a place of anxiety and fear, getting lost in my overwhelm instead of focusing on the things that I enjoy doing or even embracing some rest. Looking back over the years, I know I’ve spent lots of time struggling in silence in this uncomfortable, awkward place and making myself unhappy. I didn’t know before how to name this or describe what I was feeling.
This summer might be the first summer in my life that I was able to release much of my old anxiety and truly embrace resting, slowing down, and taking care of myself in new ways. I owe a lot of thanks to my daily meditation practice and the meditation and life skills I’ve been learning through the Mindfulness Facilitator training program I’m enrolled in this year. Staying present in the moment, acknowledging gratitude for the little things in life, and being able to see my thoughts from a bit of a distance helps to shift my mindset away from anxiety, fear, and overwhelm to seeing my life unfold from a wider perspective, almost like through a telescope instead of a microscope.
Three things that help me:
create daily rituals that bring comfort and feel good - this can look like exercise, a daily walk, journaling, reading a book, drinking a coffee while gazing out the window, fill in your favorite activities
re-focusing my energy to something I enjoy and away from the things that cause upset…another way of saying it - distract myself with something enjoyable
Meditate and accept the feelings of the moment I am in, practice with non-judgement and self-love, telescope out and reframe the picture
I love this quote from Wayne Dyer:
If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
And I’ve seen this happen through the phases and seasons of my life. We humans are all works in progress and what I have written here today might change for me tomorrow. I can allow myself that flexibility and openness. I’ve begun this process of continually questioning long standing beliefs or stories that I tell myself, seeing where I can release old thought patterns that aren’t helping me, and bring some fresh thoughts into view.
Here are some journal prompts for you:
The summer is a ___(insert descriptive word here ex. hard, easy, stressful, relaxing, slow, busy)______time for me.
Now re-read what you wrote and ask yourself, is that really true? Or am I telling myself a story that I’ve held on to for a long while? Am I holding onto an older version of a belief that needs an update?
If I could live in my ideal summer, what does it look, sound, taste, smell, & feel like? Describe your dream summer and consider how you can make the dream a reality.