My initiation into summer
in·i·ti·a·tion; the act of beginning something
Yesterday a dear friend and I met up for a Nia class. She has three teenagers, so it’s precious time when we get to connect. We got the date wrong, the studio was empty and we found ourselves sitting in the hot car deciding what to do next. Should we scan our FB invites for an activity, take a walk on the crowded trails, find another dance class, rush to a hatha flow studio or, perhaps, this was an invitation to do less and slow way down.
We accepted this calling and headed to a cafe to pick up two big herbal iced teas to-go.
We drove to the Zilker botanical gardens, strolled through the shaded paths, sipped our cold drinks and grinned with delight at the stunning lotus flowers: purple, pink, white, yellow.
We discovered a tea house tucked up on a hill in the gardens–the stone cool and inviting. We meditated together.
We drank in the beauty of the plants, the flowers, the vines, the fish, the dragonflies … and then we sought out water.
We found our way to a spring-fed pool and enjoyed the baptismal feel of the 72 degree waters–weightless and worry-free. Summer–for me–has arrived.
Monday is the summer solstice–the first official day of summer. After June 20th, each day will be a minute shorter, reminding us that this delicious period where we are invited to slow down (read 3 ways to slow down this summer) and enjoy a more relaxed, dreamy, meandering pace–is fleeting.
How will you initiate yourself into summer?
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Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by life balance coach/speaker, author and Career Strategists president, Renée Peterson Trudeau. Renee’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Spirituality & Health and more. Thousands of women in ten countries are becoming RTA-Certified Facilitators and leading/joining self-renewal group based on her award-winning curriculum. She leads workshops/retreats around the globe and is the author of several best-selling life balance titles including The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal and Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways to Reconnect and Find Peace in Everyday Life. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and 14 year-old son. More on her background here.
