The
month of June celebrates Summer Solstice on the 21st.
It's
the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.
The
word solstice is from the Latin word "solstitium"
meaning
"sun-stopping" because the point at which
the
sun appears to rise and set
stops
and reverses direction after that day.
And
a time to reflect upon the blessings
we
have received in seasons past
and
look toward a new growth.
Take
advantage of your added energy at this point in the year.
It's
a great time to start new projects
and
enjoy being active.
The
aura around you is bright and joyous.
Soak
it up, share it around,
and
keep a little stowed away for the winter.
Connecting
to Mother Earth will help you feel balanced.
Summer
brings visions of vacation, sunshine and fun.
So
may I suggest starting a new ritual to keep
this
feeling going ... a PLAY DATE.
PLAY
DATE
“Always
leave enough time in your life
to
do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous.
That
has more of an effect on economic well-being
than
any other single factore.”
~
Paul Hawken~
Allowing
ourselves time to play is like taking vitamins for your soul, nourishing and replenishing
all the energy used to create your daily life of what should or needs to be
done, all the that you give to yourself and others. A cycle of out flow balanced with time out
for an inflow that keeps us moving forward.
Julia
Cameron talks about this in her book, THE
ARTIST’S WAY(link) when she suggests to schedule an Artist’s Date to
stimulate the artist within.
The
idea behind establishing a weekly play date is to schedule about 2 hours and
commit to using them to renew your creative process. An excursion, pre-planned and not to be
changed, cancelled or thought of as frivolous, not important but a real
commitment.
This
means doing something you’ve always thought about but never got around to
it. Something completely silly, not at
all practical but a secret wish. That’s
the point. It doesn’t have to cost a
dime or you can make it a special splurge.
What constitutes your choices comes from what you love, so make it
solely your own. Do not choose things
you “should” do, let the kid in you tell you what it wants. Then while you’re giving the practical adult
side of you a break, plan something that awakens you to your senses . . .
The
Smell of blooming roses,
bread baking, incense burning, childhood smells that made you feel safe, smells
that comfort you, follow the scent. 
Sounds
to lull or stimulate – make you move your body, lose yourself in it.
They say you eat with your eyes first. Savor the sight, smell and Taste of a favorite treat, be
adventurous and taste something new. Pay
attention to each mouthful, let yourself taste all the flavors . . .
a
wine or tea tasting, new ethnic cuisine or comfort food to sooth your
soul.
Refocus your Sights on the visible, visual world around you in a new
way. Drink in the beauty. Observe something familiar and really look at
it as if for the first time, the details, color shadings, what makes it unique.
Touch -- to mold and shape, softness, warm,
solid, strong, sleek, cooling, textured.
Connecting through Touch by knitting, bouncing a ball, preparing a meal
all have a sort of rhythm that lets you get lost in the motion and touch … it
becomes instinctive and allows your thoughts to wander.
Just
being in nature has a way of stimulating all the senses.
These
are all elements of magic. You get the
idea.
The
most important part of your play date is that it is for you and you alone … me,
myself and I, the child, adolescent part of you should be prominent in the
proceedings, forget about the clock and lose yourself in each moment and just
be. What happens is you have given
yourself time to be intimate with yourself. Not everyone is comfortable with
that but it is essential if you want to have a richer, deeper, more fulfilling
life. Playing opens up a conversation
within you and in the middle of having fun, the most surprising, profound,
miraculous thoughts and experiences are open to you. that problem nagging you now has a
solution. You realize something needed
to change, be removed or added to your life.
You gain an understanding about a relationship or you get a brilliant
idea that changes everything.
There
will be resistance from that critic (both the inner and outer ones) that tries
to keep you in the little box. It thinks
it’s protecting you but it’s really holding you back from new, wonderful and
exciting opportunities that will take your life to a whole new level. It’s their job to keep the status quo which
does not allow for growth and can keep things stagnate. Take charge and step through that resistance
and give yourself a little 2 hour adventure in the 168 hours that make a week.
So
what are you waiting for? Start
planning.
