Summertime is the sweetheart of the seasons.
Children wait all year for its arrival. Anticipated and well planned vacations finally squeeze into its slim perimeters. Even fruit trees spend the year preparing for the grand finale. Summer comes with high expectations and crescendos with lazy relief.
Familiar scents usually lure us out of hiding into the glorious arms of the season. Cut grass, star jasmine, foggy air – even the tangy stench of sunscreen lathers the senses with intoxicating images.
Every soul needs summertime. Dreamy days, warm nights, less clothing and conversations that linger.
Children aren’t the only ones who gain from the decompression, we all do. Summer takes us away from our usual. Whether geographical or internal – we benefit from the slowing down. Our sun starved skin drinks in the extra Vitamin D while our minds unwind and soul feasts on the fruit of uncluttered moments.
Somehow reading a book by a river’s edge or at a packed pool for hours isn’t perceived as a waste of time. Summer both redeems and invests.
Layers of clothing along with accumulated concerns seem to drop off as the weeks linger on – exposing our kindred lumps, bumps, hopes and fears. Our feet can breathe – dreams swell as we lay in the grass or sand or unfamiliar turf.
We know summer is fleeting and we’ll soon be inching toward winter once again through the subtle door of fall – so we dance with our sweetheart – grasping what she offers and storing up till her next visit.
Take walks.
Befriend a stranger.
Read a book by a new author.
Watch a mother play with her child.
Listen for baby birds, look for new life around you.
Stay outside till the moon comes up and count the stars.
Pick fresh fruit from a vine and let its juices rest on your tongue before swallowing.
[Tweet “Hear God speak to you in your slowing down moments “] winter is coming – this is the place we gather material for dreams and peace in our future.
Summertime.
