Ah ... summer’s here. It’s time to loosen up our clothing, loosen up our time, lift our hearts, allow for some good and fun times. It seems like in the winter, we are more bound up, in our bodies, minds and in our houses. Now, doors open, windows open, fresh air, all feel so spacious and freeing. Days are longer, there is more time too, time to do what we want, time outside and in nature, and time to see our neighbors who are also outside more.
There is a lightness about this summer that feels so heartening after such a long and heavy winter of politics and emotions. A heaviness that has brought many of us to find more causes to get behind, do more protesting, letter-writing and calls to stand up for what’s right. But it has been weighty energy, and I’m feeling like I need to lighten up. Still work for what I believe in, but also enjoy this precious summertime that’s upon us.
How do we live gracefully with such paradox, seeing the suffering out there in the world, yet feeling so happy to be loving this time, this summer, this moment? As Kirby Bennett says in his Telegraph column, “I appreciate being able to pause and take in everything – the world is all its beauty and bleakness.”
This deepened sense of presence seems to have intensified my senses as well. I’m hearing the trains again, motorcycles off in the distance, so much birdsong. People are out and about, and friendlier. I’m seeing the trees blossoming, flowers bursting open. It’s just so enlightening, and uplifting. Simple things.
The forests and lakes are full of wildlife now. Recently, I’ve seen beavers and muskrats swimming, geese flying in formation, hawks and ravens soaring, lizards scuttling about, bees searching for pollen, and a chipmunk trying to get into my garden. Glorious nature, so rich.
Or, maybe I’m just old and trying to live each moment because I’m not sure how many more I’ll have. Not everyone grows old, and most of us are blessed with fairly good lives, people we love and who love us, and unlimited surrounding beauty. I wonder how many of these summers I have left.
With so much hardship for so many, this joy and appreciation seems a balance for both what’s happening out there in the world and in my little life here. Perhaps it helps others to spread our joys as much as we can.
These springs and early summers bring me to such a place of gratitude. Sometimes it’s good to just stop and appreciate being here, and now. Reveling in the glory is one way to recognize how full and rich our lives really are. And also, loving the earth helps us want to care for it.
There is a certain ebb and flow to all things, winter and summer, young and old, fear and love, cruel and beautiful, inner and outer, etc. There seem to be seasons of ripening and then seasons of lying fallow, each growing out of and enriching the one that follows.
Wishing a joyful summer 2025 to all, and see you at the June 14 rally!
Martha McClellan has lived in Durango since 1993 and has been an educator, consultant and writer. Reach her at mmm@bresnan.net.
