“Manhattan-Henge” (photo credit: Grace Church)
Week #144 – BE STILL! (Celebrate the Solstice!)
Greetings, All — and Happy Friday!
The longest days are upon us! At most latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere the sun is coming up at its earliest all year (5:42 a.m. local time for me) — and will soon be setting at its very latest toward the end of the month.
Depending on your time zone — the actual solstice will occur late Tuesday night (6/20) or early Wednesday morning (6/21) this year. This is the moment when the Earth’s north pole is pointed closest toward the sun — and the time in our calendar year when the sun seems to “stand still” (literal meaning of the word sol-stice) in its arc across the sky.
Of course, we know that WE are moving (not the sun) — and, to blow your mind, it’s to the tune of about about 67,000 miles an hour through our orbit!
No wonder the ancients worshipped the solstice! I would too if it seemed we could stop the world and catch our breath for just a moment!
Summer is always a bit of a paradox, isn’t it? Nostalgia and fantasy (not to mention advertisements and social media) all lead us to believe that summer should be a time to slow down and relax. To kick back and take it all in.
But the reality is, for most people, it just picks up the pace. Kids are out of school, summer activities are scheduled, there are camps, vacations, summer reading lists, and endless projects (now inside the home AND outside in the yard!).
If you are one who gets to feeling run-down and depressed during the summer — please know you are not alone. It is not your imagination. You just might be BUSIER than you are all year!
Which leaves little time left for you.
So take a cue from the sun this week…and BE STILL!
Your Happyness Challenge for the week ahead: “BE STILL!” If you are already feeling frenzied and hectic about the summer months ahead — take some time this week to get quiet and be still. I know this sounds like the very opposite of what you think you should be doing — but find some time and a space to tune into yourself. Think about how you want to spend these days. What experiences you’d like to have. How you want to remember the next ten, twelve, or thirteen weeks. There is only one Summer of 2017…don’t let it become a runaway train crashing into the start of the next school year. Make time for silence…and see if you can catch the world standing still!
“Summer afternoon – Summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” (Henry James)
Spread Happyness — share your thoughts in the comments!
6/16/17 by Grace Church
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grace@spreadhappyness.com