Summer Slowdown
Summer. The season that encourages hangouts, vacations, dancing, barbecues, beach time, extravertness, and most importantly, fun. A season most of us look forward to, recharged energy with chance to finally get outside and let off some steam.
But what happens when “Summer “ comes to a halt? When the plans you had for the season of fun get altered dramatically? The sun is still shining and the energy of Summer is here, but life has forced a slowdown.
Life often has different plans than what we as individuals dream and create. That’s exactly what happened to me this Summer. Plans were altered, schedules and routines upended, places and relationships once securely defined as safe, redefined. What the hell do I do now?
Life forced me to slow down, re-evaluate, re-assess, and ultimately, ground. I took some time in a new place outside of the city to find out what life, and my body were trying to tell me. I surrounded myself with nature, open skies, the lake, long roads, my favorite person and, my favorite co-regulation method, dogs. Here’s what I learned when life slowed me down.
I learned that I spent most of my energy on “success”, bad habits out of routine and survival, perfectionism, convenience instead of discipline, and on the pressures to “be better”, “do better” and “do more”. I had heard the messages from my body to slow down, to stop, to reflect; I kept pushing. Not until life forced me to actually slow down did I listen. This happens, right? Of course, we’re all human and we all live in systems that encourage that ignorance or avoidance of those messages, but this time I was able to receive the gifts.
This slow down allowed me to breathe, pause, and reconnect with myself, my values, and what’s really important in my life. It allowed me to attune to my body and really hear the messages it was sending; what we thought was safety was just complacency. Complacency to the grind, to the patterns of survival, relationships that kept my capacity limited, and the unprocessed blocks keeping me stuck. It taught me life exists outside of the constraints I had put on it.
This Summer, I learned how to receive. To receive energies, circumstances, plans, and connections outside of my control. While initially forced, through grounding, attunement, and the renegotiation of safety, it has become the most intentional Summer of my life. I have rediscovered my ability to connect with the parts of me I had been long neglecting; I built the space and capacity to hold more, to hold me. There’s still a lot of work to be done in this process, but I feel more at peace with that journey than ever.
Ready to learn how to slow down, renegotiate safety, and expand your capacity? Book a consultation with us now at Emeraldcounselingllc.com.
