by Anon
Happy Solstice to one and all!
It’s taken me all day to sit and write today, but that’s okay, some things take a while
Solstice! The barefoot thumping heartbeat of the summer, and all of her adventures.
Peak energy of the sun, peak light, enormous growth everywhere. It’s here! We made it!
This longest day stretches over the next few, and invites a whole time of summer: summertime.
Hot. Sunny. Sweaty. Leaping into bodies of water. Spending time with loved ones. Friends. Family. Laughing! Adventuring. Travelling. Sunglasses and that smell of suncream. Daytime naps on the grass under trees. Beaches. Salty bare skin from the sea. Holidays. Basking. Cold drinks. Long dusky evenings. Bright long mornings. Crowds and chatter. Fires at night. Bare feet. Skies full of stars. Expressions of love. Release. Creativity and risk and stretch. Fullness. Rest and energy. Energy and rest.
A long list of stereotypes? Perhaps. Also, much truth and nostalgia and joy.
It is, as ever, an opportunity to pause and reflect. Where were you at the winter solstice? Where are you now? Where will you be by the next? Get curious with yourself, and the life you are living. Set intentions and goals if they have meaning to you. Reflect either way, just for the value of its own self.
Summer has a different feeling altogether; patchworks of experiences woven together by the bright, close sunshine and the longer days. A lightness. A warmth. A fun.
We wait so so long for these months to circle back around, even while we love the other seasons as they pass, but here they finally are.
So, smile at the sun as she sets tonight. Wave at her now! Watch her rise in the coming days if you can. Watching the sunrise reminds me of how light can burst out of darkness, the patience involved in waiting, and the hope involved in the watching the horizon gently brighten as the sunrise pulls closer. The first glint of golden beaming through from the source that gives us all of our energy. Come and sit in my classroom, my lessons on climate change will tell you that!
So, whatever your ingredients of summer are, I hope you have one that is nourishing in the ways that you need it to be.
The days stay the same length for the next few days, so you’ve got a little while!
