Are you enjoying the brilliance of summer and all the beauty growing around you in your part of the world as we embark upon the Summer Solstice?
For quite some time I devoted a big part of myself to create my 9 week course The Calming Toolkit and I needed a bit of a rest afterwards to recoup. When I get really excited about something I tend to put all that I am into it until I know it’s complete. Then, as with everything that is cyclical, time is needed to contract from all of that outward energy to regroup, restore, and rest before the next cycle begins.
Honoring Cycles
Everything in the world can be looked at as a cycle.
Plants sprout, grow, bloom, and recede back to the earth.
The moon goes from darkness, to crescent, to full, and returns black again.
Seasons evolve from spring, to summer, fall, winter, and back to spring again.
Even the stock market rises and falls.
A cycle is the endless constant on the planet we live on.
We’re often told and think we need to constantly be in the growth stage. The stage that is always in bloom. Always on our A game, full of energy and feeling our best. Always in high productivity with little rest.
But if everything around is cycles, from plants, the moon and sun, and even animals, who are we to think we can always be going in that high energy state without time for a break now and then!
Midsummer; The Beginning of a Shift
The Summer Solstice, or Midsummer as I call it, is a crossroads between the points of going and resting. Midsummer is known as the first day of summer and the peak of summer time. A time of full heightened energy. Something not always thought of however is it’s also the beginning of returning to the darkness. For every day forward from the summer solstice the sun sets a little earlier leaving us with a little less light. It’s the polar opposite of the winter solstice that is 6 months away. From now until then we begin receding, slowly, back to the darker times.
Thinking about that can bring up a lot of sadness, disappointment and discouragement. Many prefer the long days of summer with it’s warmth and days filled with vacations, barbeques, relaxing with lemonade and sun teas, and gardening adventures. The shift to the darkness can bring hesitation and apprehension that is completely understandable. But remember, everything is cyclical.
I have found that the more we look and honor the natural cycles, the more we internally feel empowered and enlivened by them. Yes the days will get shorter but if they didn’t, when would you truly find time to get extra rest? When fall and winter approach our bodies natural energy recedes just as the amount of sunlight recedes. By the time winter comes you can often feel a sense of relief as there’s less weeding, less party planning, less packing and unpacking from travelling, simply less doing. The body needs that, but for now, we’re still in summer.
We still have many days and moments of high energy adventures to play and experience. Just know with the receding, its okay to give yourself permission to do a little a less as the days ahead begin to wane.
Are You at a Crossroads?
Midsummer is a crossroads. It’s a time where in between all of your busyness you might start noticing new moments of questioning things, pondering about things, wondering which direction to go forward with. It’s a transition time as you begin the transition back to the darker days.
Change is a big part of this time of year. You might be pondering a new job, a new passion, some new shift in your life. Or maybe you feel stuck or agitated for what feels like some unknown reason. That’s the energy this time of year can bring. The best thing to do is to not fight it, rather, to allow whatever pondering, stirring, or change that’s occurring and bubbling to the surface to just happen.
Change can feel uncomfortable, often because we have no idea what is coming. As humans we love to know what’s ahead for us, otherwise fears and worries can pop up because we feel like were in the dark, and often we fear being in the dark because there’s scary “monsters” there right. But what happened when you were a kid and your or one of your parents shined a light on the scary darkness?
There was nothing there… just your fear.
Not knowing the answer to something or what’s coming in the near future can bring up fear, hesitation, and feel downright uncomfortable. Sometimes you might feel like you’re wandering through a field of wildflowers but don’t know which direction to turn because there’s so many paths in front of you. Do you stop and just sit and do nothing? Yes a nice rest, especially laying down in a comfy bed of flowers is always welcomed, but eventually you have to get up and go in a certain direction. A choice needs to be made, even though clarity of that choice may be lacking.
Luckily their are so many friends and elements on this planet that are here to help when times feel uncertain. So below is a ritual that taps into the amazing power of this time of year to shine light on your fears and uncertainties and help bring some clarity over whatever you are struggling with. This ritual is simple and uses the natural magic of the energy of Midsummer and that of fireflies.
Midsummer Lighting Your Path Ritual
Fireflies
Fireflies are like a gift from universe this time of year. Each night where I live I can go for a walk outside or look out a window and see little bright lights beaming from everywhere the eye can see. There’s no other time of year that looks this magical to me. I feel like I’m on some other mystical world surrounded by a gift that lightens up the night carrying with it messages, memories, enticement and curiosity to go back to our world with a new perspective and blessed energy.
Even if fireflies don’t occur where you live this energy is still happening worldwide. It’s a light of hope that shines brightly to allow you to feel and see that things are going to be ok and help you see the truths to what you need.
The Ritual:
So for this simple ritual, simply go outside on Midsummer’s night, this Tuesday night, or any night soon after.
Go outside for a few moments to be in the darkness and see if you see any fireflies stopping by to say hello. If they don’t exist near you, or you live in a city, bring with you your own light (a candle works really well for this).
Then spend a few moments breathing in the darkness and letting the light of the fireflies or candle to fill you up internally as if some of their light magically drifted its way inside you like the trail of a slow moving shooting star.
While you are outside think about what it is that is challenging you right now, and what you need light shined on in your life. To yourself (or out loud) ask for some light to be shined on your challenge so you can see a lit pathway for the direction you need to take.
Now if you have a strong gift of sight you may actually see that pathway lit for you. But most often you won’t. Instead, you might get a sense of the direction you need to take, or you might start thinking about something out of the blue. You might receive a message in your dreams that night or get a sudden urge in the coming days to do something differently, or even see a sign written on a truck that you know is a clear message for you.
You might experience nothing at all and that is completely normal. Know that it is still happening, and something was still stirred up for you with a lighted direction for you ahead. Sometimes we just don’t realize it until we’re further on that new path or shift that needed to occur. If you’re skeptical, that’s good. If this is new to you that’s the first step to finding your light.
When you are done enjoying your moment in the lighted darkness of the night it’s a good idea to speak a wish of gratitude to the energy of Midsummer, fireflies, and/or the element of fire. All of our energies intermingle and work together so as you give gratitude for the gift your receive, they too shall receive a gift of in exchange.
