Making Adjustments
How are you? I mean truly: How are you?
We are now on the cusp of summer. Maybe where you are, you are already deep in it. Out here, we went from a few delicious weeks of high spring immediately into deep summer. It happened overnight.
With this seasonal change, we all are invited into taking stock and fine-tuning the way we live. Let’s be honest: every season offers this invitation, actually. Again and again and again. Now is the time to really check in with your chosen lifestyle, and notice what you love, notice what is no longer serving you. Then, dream up what you would love instead. Ask yourself: What are your priorities for this season? And then, make some needed adjustments.
I’m deep in this process. What already feels great and could be amplified? What is needed now that maybe wasn’t a need before? What would we love to bring into the way we live? What is most important to me? What would make summer amazing?
I keep a file of “seasonal lists”. A list for each season, reminding me of all my favorite things to do, to experience…. All the ways I enjoy reveling in each season. As the next season arrives, I put its list on my fridge, so that it stands as a continual reminder to live this season fully.
Right now, I am thinking a lot about the outdoor living spaces at our home. We have gardens upon gardens here. This year I am creating a new vegetable and herb garden to walk through, as we enter and leave our home. Imagine how delicious such an experience like this is?! I am so excited. My next wondering is: how can we create wonderful places in which we can be together as a family? How can we love being at home even more? How can our home be an even more restorative haven?
If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll have heard me talk about rhythm quite a bit. This is the cadence, the flow of one’s day. If well-designed, it really carries us through our day, blending in the right mix of big doing, and time for rest and reflection. So, of course this seasonal change invites us to investigate how our rhythm serves (or doesn’t serve) us.
At the end of each summer, I write out the rhythm that ultimately really worked for us, and I keep it as a roadmap for the start of the next summer. In this, I think about the layout of really delighting in summer, while also getting done all the things that need to be done. How do we as a family balance the wild freedom of sitting outside and eating popsicles together, watching the clouds and the butterflies, working in the garden… while also taking time for me to respond to emails, attend zoom meetings, write, etc…? We all have our own balancing act in summer (especially if we have children at home). If you haven’t yet, make a little map of your day and week (this helps create the scaffolding of rhythm). See how you can plan out time for all of your priorities, including savoring this season.
Here are the questions again:
What do you love?
What is no longer serving you?
What would you love instead?
What would make this season amazing?
So- I invite you to take some time, even just a few quiet moments, and reflect on your life (the physical parts, and the scheduling and daily rhythm parts). Ask yourself some questions, and then see: what adjustments are needed to make this season of yours beloved?
In deep gratitude for everything in this sweet life,
Rebecca
* Disclaimer: This likely goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: Everything I write is for educational purposes only. Nothing I write or share can be deemed diagnostic or medical advice. Nothing I write or share can replace your own healthcare providers or your own internal knowing and wisdom. Period. Please seek tailored medical care and advice via your skilled healthcare team whenever you need it.
