Summertime: A Season for Living

So long as earth lasts
Sowing and reaping,
Cold and heat,
Summer and winter,
Day and night
Will never cease.

As Genesis 8:22 reminds us, so many things pass away, but the cycles of the seasons continue with or without us, and each season brings with it lessons for us to learn.

Right now we find ourselves at the end of summer. Somehow it came racing in when we least expected it. Suddenly there are back to school sales, college students getting ready to head out, teachers getting rooms and lesson plans prepared, and folks sneaking in a last trip up north, or a last vacation before school starts. We're pushing to get in outside plans with others and to do what needs to be done on the house and yard before it gets too cold.

What we rarely do is pause to contemplate the gifts and lessons summer offered us and how we've responded to them. Reflection and self-awareness are so important on the spiritual path, so let's see what we can learn

Each season has its own feel, its own energy. Overall, summer is a season for living. It carries the energies of growth, fullness, joy, play, light, fruitfulness, ripening, abundance and promise.

Macrina Wiederkehr, in The Circle of Life, reflects on the difference between our childhood summers and our adult summers:

How easily the seasons speak to me of God! Yet, as I sit here underneath my sycamore tree experiencing the heat and longing for rain, I realize I do not have the same fondness for summer that I had as a child. My childhood summer memories do not even include a thought of heat. I simply do not remember being hot. I was so involved in life I did not have time to notice the discomfort. Summer was a celebration of life. It was the time I lived most intensely, holding nothing back. It was the season of total commitment to life. I joyfully participated in the sacrament of summer because I was still in the process of receiving the sacrament of childhood. As a child I was quite successful at living life fully because I had not yet learned to live by the calendar. I lived by heart.

How true it is that we've changed our attitude about summer. Now all we seem to talk about is the weather and how humid and sticky it is! It never bothered us when we were young. Take a few moment and recall a memory from a childhood summer that you think of as a magical time. I wonder if we can come up with a moment from these last few months that also feels like a magical summer moment as an adult. Perhaps recalling these memories seems fluffy… but this is a practice in awareness, a practice in seeing the divine in our lives as magic and light and laughter and beauty. In this remembering is the opportunity to be grateful.

There is another way to recognize Sacred Presence in the midst of the seasons and that is by paying attention to what the season has to teach us. I've briefly elaborated on five lessons I believe the summer has to offer us if we'll pay attention.

Summer offers us the opportunity  to OPEN UP TO LIFE… the beauty, warmth and energy of summer draws us outside. It reconnects us to the earth, to breathing the fresh air, to playing in her rivers and lakes, to feeling her moist soil as we plant and weed and harvest. Summer reminds us that we are alive and that there is much in the world to experience and appreciate.

How did summer open you to life?

GROWTH… while spring is the season for planting, summer is the season of growth and fullness. Most of us are done growing… physically… we hope. But what about spiritually, emotionally, intellectually? Summer is the season to remind us that we’re not done growing, changing and coming into the fullness of our being. In fact, we’re (hopefully) never really done. There are often new seeds of knowledge or learning planted in our lives, but it is up to us to nurture them and help them grow. Patience, trust and confidence are needed when it comes to personal growth!

How did you grow this summer? What new experiences did you have? What friendships did you deepen?

NOURISHMENT… whereas spring might be a time of action, summer is a time of nourishment. We all know what happens if we plant a garden and then don’t take care of it. It will get overrun with weeds, or it will dry up and burn out without water, or the Japanese Beatles or cabbage worms will decimate your plants. If you want to keep your plants healthy, tending, watering, feeding and attention is required. 

Nourishment is a lesson for us as well. Summer brings all sorts of healthy fruits and vegetables to our tables to nourish our bodies. Sunshine brings vitamin D to lift our moods and supports our muscle, nerve and immune system. The bigger question is what kind of nourishment do YOU need? Do you need rest or play or meaningful conversation or sacred space? Do you need your mind challenged? Do you need spiritual nourishment?

LIGHT… the increased daylight hours can be a reminder that we do not always walk in darkness, that there is a rhythm and pattern to life which flows from dark times to light times, from grief, loss and struggle to joy, peace and excitement.  This time of light can remind us to harness the energy of light and be light for the world ourselves, to bring hope to others. Summertime is the time to develop faith in our life, trusting that just like the sun, we will rise each day no matter what life brings.

CONNECTION & RECONNECTION… summer is a time of weddings, reunions, family picnics and hanging out with friends. To know and be known is a gift. To care about others and be cared for is a gift. Relationships are the most important part of life.

Consider how getting together with family and friends affected you spiritually, or what did it teach you or remind you of?

There are a few weeks left – what will we do with the remainder of this wild and precious summer? What will you make a commitment to so you can consciously draw in the energy of this season that calls us to life? Will you walk barefoot in the grass or on the beach, will you run through the sprinkler, smell the flowers or go for ice cream? Will you pack a picnic, visit a farmer's market, kayak, or enjoy an outside concert with friends.

Summer’s energy is with us for a few more weeks – enjoy it, let it fill you spiritually with all the energetic possibilities and lessons it offers.

Love & Light!

Kaye