Savoring Summer Moments
Hello Dear Ones!
How are you? How is your experience of summer?
I’ve been catching myself in “survival mode” more than “savoring mode” lately. It’s been so incredibly hot and humid out here, there’s no comfortable place to be, to work, to rest. I’ve noticed how much I’m NOT savoring this season, and it has upset me. In an effort to return to savoring, I brought myself back to my list of favorite summertime activities (posted on my fridge). When I read and re-read it, all I have been able to say to myself is:
Yeah. But that doesn’t excite me. That’s just stuff.
Today is cooler, the sun is glorious, and finally not too hot. I took myself out for a walk on one of my favorite country roads. It’s one with tremendous views, a gorgeous breeze, and a house I’d love to live in. As I walked, I was pondering this experience of ”not savoring”. And then in a snap, clarity came. I was looking out over the profound view of meadows and layers and layers of hills and mountains in the distance, and then saw a hawk. Maybe it was an eagle. It had massive wingspan, and in my moment of attuning to the view, I relaxed. I relaxed so much that I could see the tips of the individual wing feathers. And so, I stood and just watched in reverence. Then a second bird joined the first and they swooped together. It was so beautiful. Feeling filled with joy from having seen this, I continued walking.
As I walked, I again pondered my summertime experience of “not savoring”, with the immediate lived experience of deeply savoring these magnificent birds. Walking, thinking, walking, thinking. And then I was stopped mid-stride. Water. I could suddenly hear the delicious sounds of a bubbling and rushing stream, running right under the road. I stood in the center of the road, with the sounds of the stream equally balanced in each ear. Eyes closed. I listened deeply to the stream gurgling and rushing, to the insects in the nearby meadows, to the airplane in the sky. I inhaled the perfume of the meadow flowers in the air. I felt the wind rushing over my skin. It was a moment of pure bliss. Again, coming to a place of feeling filled up with joy, I opened my eyes and followed the sounds of the stream. There! There was the stream, hidden under the meadow flowers. There! The glinting of sun as it dappled over the water. Again, I was filled with delight.
As I walked away, I heard the deep-throated voice of bullfrogs singing in the stream and was ushered right back to childhood. Smiling, I savored the memories. When I was a little girl, we often visited my grandparents who lived near a beautiful pond. I’d sleep in a room with windows flung wide open. On sticky-hot summer nights, as I rolled around trying to sleep, I was serenaded by the symphony of bullfrogs. Those bullfrogs anchored me throughout my childhood and sang me to sleep. Now, as an adult, I still bring bullfrogs into my mind as I attempt to sleep on sticky-hot nights. They still sing to me in my mind, and it is so sweet.
Right, so what I am coming to is the realization that landed in my hands. It’s nothing new but it hit me like I’d never heard it before… Which I think is hilarious, because I have written about this so many times, and yet I guess I needed to re-discover it from another angle for myself.
The realization is this: no matter the favorite things we do in a season, no matter the favorite foods, the people, the places…. It’s all just stuff if we aren’t present in the moment. What’s the point if we aren’t as fully IN it, in the moment, as much as possible? Our ability to be present and savoring varies by the moment and is a skill we build over time. I want to be clear about this. Some moments we can be more present than others. This is just a fact of being human. The point though is to be as present as you are able and to open up your senses in that moment. As you sit with this beloved person, or hike a trail, or eat a favorite food…. What do you smell? What do you hear? What do you taste? Can you feel the peach juice as it drips down your chin? Can you feel the warmth in your heart as you experience joy in the presence of another person? On a gorgeous day, what is happening in the sky? How is the wind rippling through the landscape around you? Can you smell anything that is quintessentially summer?
Whatever your senses find, be with them. Enjoy them. Our human bodies were designed to savor what our senses pick up. This is one of the delights in being human. This is one of the gems of living in a body.
And. I need to say clearly: sometimes we can slow down and open up our senses, and sometimes we just can’t. Please do not feel badly if this is hard for you. It is a skill to grow over time. Begin in small moments. Begin with easy things, whatever feels most available to you within your senses. Maybe taste is the easiest to access, or sound. Whatever it is for you, start there. And be kind to yourself as your being remembers how to do this. It truly IS a remembering: How to slow down, how to orient to the life around and within you. How to take a step away from the busy hustle that marks life for so many of us.
So here are some questions to ponder this week:
What are a few things that make summer a delicious experience in your life?
Choose one or two of these things: How could you open your senses while experiencing them? In other words, what would savoring these experiences look like? Feel like? Taste like? Sound like? Smell like?
And- Can you practice slowing down in everyday life, no matter what you are doing, and just open your senses to whatever surrounds you? (sounds, sights, sensations in your body, taste, scents around you).
Here’s to each of us loving this season and living it more fully each day. I’ll be right here with you, practicing alongside you.
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.
