Summer: Chaos, Balance And Living
Summer is like a test of how far you have gone within yourself. At least for me: the chaos, the heat, the extended light, the human connection, festivals, travel, unstructured routine, kids' holidays, the bees, the flies whenever food is out, the mosquitoes... Tell me about it! How are you doing, like really? I am checking in with you.
It all depends on how we look at things and not how they are in themselves.
~ Carl Jung
Two years ago, I was telling a friend how summer is overrated. The long daytime, the urge to always be outside with the feeling of not missing out on life, the endless desire to sit on a terrace for a cold Spritz, and the guilt if you feel like staying in (who stays in their house in summer!), the discomfort of the sun's heat on your skin, searching for shade wherever you are. As I kept having conversations with people about this, it became clear that this was my mindset. That was the frequency I was tuned into, the way I chose to perceive summer. Once you become aware, nothing goes unnoticed; it all comes to the surface and gets addressed. I've been having some thoughts about summer days, so grab something and stay with me.
Chaos: I used to feel overwhelmed by the long, hot summer days. Everything felt heavy, especially my body. It was so easy for me to lose my balance with what I eat and drink, how I listen to people, and the balance in my well-being in general due to the overwhelming state I carried during this time. But this summer is different; very different! I am lighter, not because something changed outside, but because I changed. This happens without conscious effort; it results from continuous compound effects. This is how I see it: the level of tolerance you have with yourself directly reflects how tolerant you are with everything else in life, and the level of love you feel within yourself reflects back to the world. I say this because I can see how a bee or a fly on my food is nothing annoying other than a living being that also coexists in the perfect timing provided by nature, it can be in the wrong places, like on my food, but I can also choose to liberate it from there and out in space and not feel annoyed by its presence. The sun burning my skin is just coexisting alongside me in the months that perfectly suit its shining light. Seeing it that way, I immediately let go of that resistance and walked lightly in my body. The sweat that comes out is just there between now and when you take a cold shower and refresh yourself. You can choose to enjoy the loud noises around you on a beach from people laughing and playing different music from their speakers, smiling at how everyone is happy instead of feeling like you should be somewhere else. Choose to look at things the way they are and not the way you think they should be. When I felt overwhelmed by all of this, it felt like being a prisoner in my own conditioning. Life itself is meaningless; it has a meaning as soon as you give it a certain definition; define it in a way that feels lighter and more colorful.
Balance: Have you felt your feet lately? How does it feel to be in your body? How do you feel when you talk with people in your life? Can you maintain your inner balance no matter how the circumstances present themselves to you? If it's summertime where you are, it may call for more socializing and being with people than other months of the year, which can often bring emotional turbulence and conflicts. It's human, and that is okay. It's a great opportunity to address our unfinished businesses. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been practicing listening and connecting to people's energy fields. Let me explain what that entails. As I listen to people, I have been practicing not just hearing the words but understanding where they are coming from energetically. People articulate how they feel through words, but by solely focusing on the words, you miss a significant part of what they mean. That's why most people choose to preach to those who simply need a hug. When I listened to some of the people I met this summer, I tried to actively connect with their energy field. I've discovered that someone may retell a story they've been sharing for years not just because they want to repeat it, but possibly because no one understood them. I seize that opportunity to genuinely comprehend their feelings, show compassion, and at the same time choose not to allow them to pull me into their emotions that have accumulated from not feeling understood. From that standpoint, if they choose it, I would show them who they really are, perhaps affirming to them the most beautiful quality that they've forgotten they possess. Most of the time, I observed a shift in either their body language or their words, like their shoulders would lower, or there would be a silent pause. I could sense that someone had truly seen them. You cannot see someone if you can't see yourself. Check-in with yourself whenever you are doing something or talking to someone, and connect with the feeling in the middle of your chest, does it feel contracted or expanded? If you feel some heaviness at that moment, that is an indication that you are being pulled in and your energy has shifted into a negative spiral. If you feel expanded, then you know you are passionate about what you are doing, or you are being compassionate without shifting your energy, and that is "POWER."
Living: Are you really living, or are you just making an appearance in the world? I often hear people worried about their lives ending or someone else's, and I always say that you should be afraid that it can never begin. I find "sleepwalking" the most devastating thing about life: living unconsciously until your last breath. What a nightmare! I understand how hard it is to question everything, but it is worth it. I love people, but I am obsessed with people who are wide awake; I am obsessed. Time stops when I come across one. Everything in my life is a big deal, not in the sense that it is serious but glamorous. I love people who grab any opportunity to celebrate life and make a poem about everything; I love people who see color and beauty everywhere. I recently couldn't sleep at night, and it was 1 am; the old me would have started to count how many hours I should sleep at night and how little sleep would affect my next day, but instead of choosing that, I grabbed a bowl of Greek yogurt with a banana on top and cinnamon, I went to sit by the lake. I returned two hours later feeling alive and ready to sleep again. In every moment of your life, choose the most exciting thing to do and do it until you can't anymore, then choose the next thing and continue like that. It can be as little as a nap at a random space in your house. If it's work and you can't find excitement, swapping places can refresh your energy or play music in the background to boost inspiration. In any case, do not waste moments of joy by forgetting that you can spice things up anytime, anywhere. Love life, and it'll love you back for sure.
I hope this message finds you with an open heart to receive.
