Resonate with Summer's Rhythm: How to Slow Down and Enjoy the Magic
Two weeks ago nights were in the 30s and there was danger of frost. Summer weather quickly arrived and today heat index values could reach 105.
Although I try to time our walks for cooler parts of the day, when Clara gets hot she melts to the ground, sprawled in the shade. She always looks so pleased with herself when she’s lying down during a walk, smiling, refusing to budge. It makes me laugh out loud.
Animals are good teachers. If nothing else I see these walk breaks as good reminders to make time for rest. I need it. I can’t go day after day at full speed without ending up exhausted.
Clara smiling in the shade is also a good reminder to enjoy summer. Summer is my favorite season. To my eyes it’s filled with magic. My garden bursts into abundance (look for my June garden tour next week).
I’m surrounded by flowers. Most of the time I’m barefoot. I take my work to the patio table whenever I can. I eat out of the garden every day (even if it’s just a few herbs added to a dish). I eat outside every day. Lately we’ve been enjoying coffee and smoothies beside my enthusiastically blooming Above and Beyond rose each morning.
Summer days are long. They feel light and casual. When skies are blue and the air smells of flowers and herbs and fresh-cut grass, I yearn for play. I feel the pull of vacation. I imagine taking off in the car for a day trip, exploring the countryside or visiting somewhere I’ve never been.
In summer I try to give myself some leeway. I invite a slower pace. I try to be conscious about enjoying all my favorite summery things.
Last year I created a summer-themed sketchbook class for Skillshare (if you’re not a member of Skillshare, you can take my classes and thousands of others free for 14 days).
It’s still one of my favorite classes. It’s about enjoying the season. It’s about play. My aim is to encourage creativity while capturing the joys of summer in easily accessible ways. Revisiting this class and the pages I created for it, reminds me, again, to enjoy myself while being creative. To invite play into my every day. To savor summer.
In my Joy Letter last week one of the links I shared was a blog post from Kelle Hampton about making a summer bucket list. What a perfect journal or sketchbook prompt. “Bucket list” isn’t my favorite term, so maybe I’d call mine a Summer Joys List.
If you love summer, like I do, a list will help you make time for your favorite things. And if you dislike summer, writing or sketching a list might encourage you to see the joys of summertime and make time to do something fun.
Here’s my partial Summer Joys list:
stop and smell the flowers (literally and figuratively)
relish all the colors of the season
have picnics
paint wooden birdhouses and mount them on the fence posts
take lots of garden and flower photos
breathe deep
play
be barefoot as much as possible
make iced tea
paint my faded outdoor chairs a bright new color
dry lots of herbs
make pickles (with cucumbers and other garden produce)
eat ice cream
raise butterflies
Whether it’s thanks to Clara’s reminders, the pages of my sketchbooks or inspiration from other bloggers, I think I’m off to a good start.
The next time Clara eases herself to the ground on a walk I’m sitting down beside her. We’ll rest together. I’ll breathe deeply of summer smells, slowing down and resonating with summer’s rhythms and magic. Maybe I’ll even notice something I’ve never seen before.