The Cycle Never Ends For A Reason

thoughts on summer, love & seasonal changes

Dear friends,

I’m not sure I am bringing you anything new about summertime this year. And it’s not that you need it—maybe what we need most is to be reminded that this cycle is for us to know what it means to be human, to remember that we are seasonal, too.

I was chatting with a friend recently about toxic cycles, how they move around and around each other no matter how much I try to end them. They said, “But if you decided to do something different, it wouldn’t change the outcome. The toxic cycle IS the toxic cycle.”

It was both freeing and helpful for me to recognize this, and I’d say the same for Mother Earth’s seasons that we cherish and participate in every single year, every few months.

If we decided to do something different, the seasons would still change, the cycle would still continue.

I find a great comfort in that. Despite everything we’ve done to the earth, to the waters, the animals, our tree relatives, even to one another, the seasons are still the seasons, and the enduring cycles will continue, albeit showing up a bit differently each year.

Maybe this time, we just sit in awe of it, let it overtake us and teach us something in the process. I wouldn’t mind a little bit of awe.

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My partner Travis and I got married 15 years ago, babies then. We celebrate on the first day of summer, the day that we got married in 2008. If our marriage has taught me anything, it’s patience, care, deep and soulful love, and never giving up on dreams and the chance to change and become with someone who holds it all with you.

I find the beauty of change, the beauty of the cycles and seasons we go through as humans, all within our 15 years together, our two kids, our rental houses with or without yards, our dogs, our tears and laughter and endless coffee chats.

This, too, I am in awe of, and will sit still and take in as if from a distance, an on-looker wondering how it all came to be and is still becoming.

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A Solstice Ritual

Gather a candle and match, or sit by a fire pit if you have one.

Light the candle/fire.

Take 4 deep breaths to the sacred directions.

Watch the flames flicker and quiet yourself.

Quiet your thoughts, letting them slip in and out easily.

Remind yourself that there is nowhere to be, nothing to do but be in this moment.

Watch the flames.

Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you.

Take 4 more deep breaths, honoring the coming of summer.

As you open your eyes, name out loud 5 things that bring you awe, that are a true gift to your humanity.

Thank Mother Earth, Creator, whoever you are comfortable with, for the gift of seasonal existence.

Take 4 more deep breaths.

Let the fire/candle burn a while longer. Sit in awe as long as you need.

Welcome summer with open arms.