Summer musings
Despite what the weather is doing it is the height of summer and time for me to check in with the intentions I set for this season. It was a modest list year as it was written when we were very much in lockdown.
Posies of cut summer blooms from my garden.
Meals eaten outside at every opportunity.
Cleaning out my garden pond so that it is once again a welcoming home to frogs.
A walk on the beach at Llandudno.
Eating with my mum in her lovely garden.
Having a coffee and a catch up with a friend.
Hugging my mum, sister and nephew.
Celebrating my mum’s birthday with her in person.
I’ve had some lovely posies of flowers from my garden including the one in the photo above and I’ve eaten outside at every opportunity, but since mid-June dry, warm days have been few and far between unfortunately!
Thanks to a lovely friend my garden pond is not only a welcoming home to frogs again but I also have a waterlily!
I’ve eaten with mum in her garden and celebrated with her in person on her birthday which was really lovely.
The rest hasn’t happened yet. The walk on the beach may happen next week if my client feels it's safe for me to work on site again.
I’m able to hug my mum as we became a single household support bubble, but hugging my sister and nephew feels a long way off at this point. As I write this a couple of weeks before it is due to be published Greater Manchester is in a lockdown that prevents us visiting or being visited by other households.
However, despite restrictions I have enjoyed this summer. It’s been very different but I’ve chosen to spend every day focusing on what I can do, not what I can’t. For me that’s been the best way to manage what feels like an ever-changing situation!
Being intentional helps me to not only make the most of each season but it keeps me focused and on track each week and each day. I set weekly and daily intentions to ensure that I’m putting my energies where needed and prioritising my own priorities as well as those of others.
I also set an intention for the year. This year it's adventure. Little did I realise what a rollercoaster of a year this was going to be and believe me rollercoasters are not my idea of fun. However, as I wrote a few months ago, I had a moment of clarity and realised that adventure isn’t just about doing and trying new things, it’s about the attitude with which you face what life presents you with. Adventure is about facing whatever the world throws at us. Adventure is about having the faith to carry on when it’s really hard. Adventure is about being willing to think creatively and do things differently than you’ve done before.
I’ve made a commitment to myself to spend some time during August learning something new. Being willing to be rubbish at something while I learn. I’ve been drawing daily, working through a lovely learn to draw book. It feels like an adventure, learning a new skill and exploring what I’m capable of. I’ve always loved and appreciated art but told myself that I couldn’t draw. It turns out I can and without my attitude and intention of adventure I wouldn’t have found that out!
I encourage my clients to be intentional. To set an intention each morning before they pick up their phones. Try it. Take two minutes and set an intention for how you want to be, how you want your day to go. Those two minutes before we let the rest of the world and its demands and priorities in help us to ensure that we prioritise our priorities. It helps us to feel in control of our day rather than our day in control of us.
I share lots of tips like this in my free facebook group, Pathways to Possibilities. If you aren’t already a member please come and join us. We’re a lovely friendly group. Click here to join and come and join the conversation!
