It will work out just right

On this quiet Sunday morning, I woke at sunrise to go for a walk and consult with nature on today’s letter. Quite incoherent suggestions came up, which made me laugh because that is indeed where we are at in the year. We are fast approaching the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice, which marks the energetic start of the Summer, and Summer tends to bring with it a particular productive chaos.

Our focus will shift from passionately establishing our new selves in the world to a quieter deepening and maturing of our identity. Summer’s dominant element is water, which governs our emotional world. It is a calmer energy that tempers Spring’s fiery outburst, inviting us to explore and play, graciously dancing with the unexpected. Summer is a feeling time, where things tend to work themselves out as long as we show up playfully, illuminated by the Sun’s powerful energy.

I am loosening my grip a little, inviting myself to play with the structures and routines I designed for myself in Spring. Controlling or disciplining myself too much can disrupt a natural flow this time of year. By allowing excitement and curiosity to govern my days, I know things will work out just right. Year after year, I have experienced this magic and mysterious quality of Summer.

This week, I have been practicing with the experience of deep time or the concept of time dilation. The basic premise is that by altering my dominant mode of experiencing the world, I can change my experience of time passing, effectively enriching every moment with greater awareness. As a result, some days feel significantly longer, filled with attentiveness and appreciation of beauty.

I was able to identify quite a few common threads that caused greater time dilation. By far, the most powerful one is the element of surprise or chance, which was quite easy to create by exposing myself to a new way of experiencing the familiar. By going on a nighttime walk along a path I only knew well by daylight or by stepping in the car without a clear idea where I was going, I invited a playful flow and allowed serendipity to occur.

We need moments of deep time, momentarily losing track of our schedule, so we can dive deeper into our experiences and allow ourselves the time to have complex thoughts, explore nuances, and focus on the less-than-obvious. The road to maturity is not straightforward but rather erratic and unpredictable. We might miss or overlook those chance encounters if we hold on too tightly to our preconceived plans.