Summer has officially arrived and with it comes the opportunity to “shake it up” and “step outside the box”! Schedules, routines, and demands change with the end of the school year. Days are longer and we are naturally drawn to the longer light. Life just seems to take a more casual twist. Meals tend to be simpler and lighter, we may tend to exercise more, more time is spent in recreation and socializing.
I would like to suggest that this summer you take a moment and reflect about how to consider moving yourself and a part of your life into a very different “place.” For example, you may want to do something you have not done but have dreamed about doing. Personally I have wanted to learn to kayak, and I have a goal of working toward riding my bike for longer distances than I typically do. You may also want to shake up your normal life routines. Again personally, I want to turn my phone and computer off one day each weekend and be disconnected. I relish being able to enjoy the rhythm of Sunday beach yoga rather than reading the Sunday Globe. Each weekday I prowl around in my garden each morning before going to work. Both these changes in my fall/winter/spring routine allow me to “step outside the box” and “shake it up”.
Being open to “stretching”, “moving beyond the typical confines” and “exploring” gives us a chance to grow, experiment, connect differently with ourselves, with nature, our world. By doing so, we learn and become open to novel experiences. Each time we do so we expand our horizons and our understanding of our internal and external connections with life.
Keep a journal, take photos, remember what you pushed yourself to do and how it felt so you can continue expanding your world while serving as a powerful role model.
