Remember the opening line from the old Porgy and Bess song– “Summertime and the livin’ is easy”? Well, based on a half a dozen conversations I have had with clients and friends this week, the livin’ isn’t easy. And I’m wondering why.
Have we gotten so caught up in the life of the mind that we refuse to notice that the sun is out, we need a rest, and nature is providing ample opportunity to reconnect with the slower and meandering pace of nature? Are the demands of role expectations and work either in the home or outside so demanding that we shut out what our hearts are telling us we need? Do you know that the work will still be there when you get back? (and may not be nearly as important as you initially thought?) In the words of one client this week, “Wow, I went away for three weeks and the place is still standing!”
If we remember that, at some level, the body is either in a state of ease or dis-ease and that dis-ease stems from stress, then we might stop to refocus our attention on whether we are good guardians of our mental, emotional, and physical health, or willing followers of stressed systems of which we are a part.
In purely physical terms, stress is any form of resistance to what is.What is right now is summertime and if you miss the gift of nature reminding you to slow down in the heat, do some extra nice things for yourself to make you smile, stop to watch a child play or enjoy a beautiful sunset, then it’s also time to recognize that life is happening and you are not there to experience it. You are in your head, telling yourself (or blinding following someone who is telling you) that you don’t have the “luxury” of slowing down to the speed of life and nature.
Too many of the people I talked with this week are getting very strong emotional and physical health warnings to pay attention. In the words of a dear friend who several years ago didn’t heed the warnings, “Don’t wait for the neon.”
It’s summertime AND it’s time to listen to the wisdom of your heart. What would make “the livin;’ easy?” Yes, there’s a recession. Yes, there is still more work to do. Yes, others are demanding your time. AND yes, the summer is prompting all of us to slow down—if only for a minute—to ask ourselves what is truly important.
It’s summertime AND…
