summer

Summer solstice has arrived.  With her, she brought beautiful sunshine and warmth.  Summer is easy to get lost in, with the luscious gardens teeming with fragrant blossoms and bountiful vegetable patches growing steadily day by day.  The days are long, lasting well into the wee evening hours when we are fortunate enough to witness the beautiful and colourful displays at sunset as they bid farewell to the daylight for just a few hours.

Summer, while it feels like it will never end, also seems to go by so fast.  Enjoy every moment as you live in the present.  Take the time to put your nose to a peony bloom and inhale its perfume.  Spend a lazy afternoon in a hammock with a book.  Take a walk through the forest trails and breathe in the oak and moss as you enjoy the cool shade from the canopy.  Sit patiently at the lakeside and wait for the dragonflies to come rest their weary wings as they visit for a moment.

Have gratitude for the gift of summer.  This present in this very moment is worth more than gold.  Savour the time spent in the here and now and store these precious memories for those cold winter days that will eventually be upon us.  But for now, right now, be present here with Mother Nature in all her summer glory.

following dreams

I’m one of those people who will think something to death before taking any action whatsoever. It’s both a blessing and a curse. There are times where it paralyzes me and I’m too caught up in the details to make a move. I overthink things that shouldn’t be overthought. I plan until the planning makes no sense.

And I worry.

What if this dream isn’t what I should follow? What if it fails? What if I fail? What if this dream isn’t what I really wanted to pursue after all?

Sometimes, we need to leave the planning and doubt behind and take that leap of faith forward. It’s not easy for people like me to do that very thing. Sometimes we like to get our toes wet first. And sometimes that is ok, so long as we propel ourselves forward.

So there is a dream here. It’s been planned to death for a couple of years now. Perhaps it’s time to put my toes in the water.

tears

Some things bring tears to your eyes. Not because they are sad, but because they are memories in the making. Tears of happiness or of joy but knowing that these moments will not last. Tears of trying to make the most of the time in the moment yet trying to freeze the emotion and feeling so that it can be felt again when that memory comes to mind in the future.

Tears come to my eyes often. I am an emotional creature. Tears are healing. They help to wipe the past hurts away; to open the doors to new and healthier experiences. Tears are therapeutic. To soothe and hug you when you need consoling.

But tears in these happy moments are the ones that remind me that these things—these moments, are the ones to remember and cherish, because they are the ones that I will want to remember in years to come. These are the moments that life was made up of. The growing years and the happiness that made for a good life.

outside your comfort zone

Stepping outside your comfort zone is uncomfortable.  It feels uneasy and sometimes scary.  But that space just outside the little box that we have created for ourselves is where growth lies.  That wide expanse beyond the box we live in holds opportunities that we haven’t experienced. Wonderful and new experiences that will open up a whole new world to us.

Stepping outside your comfort zone will allow you to find other like minded people; new people to add to your tribe.  It will give you the opportunity to try new and different things other than the same drudgery that you do day to day.  These opportunities open your world even more and help you to see parts of yourself that you never knew existed.

Stepping outside your comfort zone will expand your horizons.  It will change you in ways you didn’t realize.  It will open you up to new and exciting opportunities that would have scared you into your shell before that first step outside your little box.

Take that first step.  Feel the excitement of something new, something slightly uncomfortable, and see what happens.  You just may discover a whole new side of yourself that you never even knew existed.