How swiftly the seasons change and suddenly it’s summer!
What I am noticing this year, is how different the solstice feels to me here in the countryside. I am much more aware of the length of the days, being able to see the sunrise and sunset more clearly, fewer buildings to obscure the view. I wake earlier, not to the sound of traffic in my street, but to the birds. And at the waning of the day there is a stillness and calm that I’ve never found in zone 2. Even the quality of the light feels changed. Many times in the past I’ve complained that I find the midsummer sun too harsh, to bright, too hot, which in London it often is; heating up the pavements and tarmac, reflecting off all the cars and windows. But out here there is more nuance as the sun moves around the house, there are trees to filter and break up the harshest of the rays, there are breezes and clouds to temper the heat.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know that I have a regular practice of reflecting on my creative work that follows the seasons, using the solar way points of solstices and equinoxes as my sign posts to pause and take stock. This has always made sense to me as these seasonal markers are so connected to the light and how it alters through the year, and I know that for myself the light is one of the biggest factors in my energy levels.
In the past I have often felt the summertime with all its brash brightness and heat to be too much, to over stimulate my nervous system and drain me. (Especially in those weeks where the temperature could soar into the mid/high 30s). But this year I’m having to adapt my thinking a little, in light of this new noticing. I don’t feel as stretched out, as jangly from the intensity of the light. Yes, I do feel energised in a way that I’m not sure I can match physically right now, but it isn’t feeling uncomfortable or overwhelming. I feel that things could be possible, if I honour my body’s needs and pace myself. Perhaps this summer I won’t be hiding from the sun so much, but embracing its rejuvenating power and letting inspiration and excitement for things ahead to swell gently in me.
If this solstice time is calling to you to slow things down a bit, so that your inner voice can be heard, perhaps you’d like to join me in a seasonal review? Download the Creative Practice Solstice Review pdf here. (For folk in the Southern hemisphere, click here for the Winter Solstice Creative Practice Review)