Dear Friends,
Let’s do something bold & beautiful this summer*!
Summer starts in nine days. That’s nine full days to flirt and convene with divine inspiration (or a few practical finger wags) and lay down some sweet enchantments (my summer word for goals).
Maybe it’s one bodacious centerpiece of enchantment: start a project, carry on or finish one. Try a new sport or craft; have a dinner party with new friends, start a business, volunteer, train for a sports event or pick up a new hobby. Grow dahlias, or an herb garden. Take your first tai chi class. Join a mind-expanding study group. Book a trip. Have a lawn party.
Maybe your summer enchantment/goal/project is to pare down, or quit something! Twenty-six years ago I stopped drinking, and that alone led to some major new enchantments—my first triathlon, for one.
For the next nine days, I’ll drop in to offer some ideas as you nosh on Summer Enchantment possibilities. I’ll share a few of mine, too.
Sounds good but I’m busy. What’s the point?
How about this: Your summer enchantment is a great way to nurture the beauty of living & build your emotional, spiritual & physical capacity for All Things. Being *in life*, and dropping yourself in a process with a bold achievement in mind, or doing something new, turns up the senses, and expands the mind & spirit. The challenge, the shakey knees, the excitement, the I-did-it!ism is all part of our growth, awakening, evolution and experiencing the beauty of living (i.e. ALL OF IT).
Let’s be clear: maybe you don’t really WANT to “do” some of the activities tap-tapping at you, but THEY might want to be done. Between the inner finger wag and your willingness to give that Thing a whirl, your summer enchantment could release some stuckness, let loose some old painful beliefs and show you what you’re made of! And more freedom!
A Few Things to Try
Read this one more time. Let it sink in. Go out for a short walk or prepare lunch, dinner, a coffee/tea break and let your mind wander. If you get ideas, write them on your phone or in a little back pocket notebook.
Sit by a window and stare out of it. Daydream. Daydream hard.
Write down a list of Summer Enchantment possibilities: the practical, the makes-good-sense, the always-wanted-to, the scares-the-shit-out-of-me, the No Way Can I Do That. The wilder the better. Don’t do the one that makes sense. Consider whatever delights you, piques your curiosity, and scares you a bit.
What is it you’ve always wanted to do, or be? There is always a way to do or be that “Impossible Thing.” You can create it impressionistically (maybe cubist-ly), or put down the mind’s resistance and carry on anyways.
What is your version of an Enchanted Summer?
*This is one Enchanted Winter if you’re Down Under, which many of my loved ones are.
Let’s do this together. Til tomorrow! XO
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