Summer Solstice: Rejuvenate Your Practice

June 21. The start of summer and the longest day of the year. The perfect turning point—solstice—to assess your 2010 progress. Maybe give yourself a kick in the pants since the year is about half over. Well, there is that.

But it’s a great excuse to see the flip side. You’ve been working hard to make your practice sizzle and grow. How much fun are you having? Are you enjoying yourself and those you love? Do you come to work feeling alive and refreshed? I thought so.

Time to throw some summer in your solstice. Here are three easy ideas to create your own summer solstice time outs.

  • Time Out #1: Grab your child (or borrow one) and let them set your agenda for an afternoon. Do whatever, wherever, whenever. Repeat as often as necessary to remember what joy looks like.

  • Time Out #2: Spend a day indulging in your favorite pastime—no excuses permitted. A juicy novel in the hammock? Check. A day tinkering on your ‘68 Mustang? Check. An outing at the beach, complete with a tailgate barbeque? Check.

  • Time Out #3: Give something to someone who needs you. Visit your grandmother. Serve in a homeless shelter. Surprise your mate with their perfect date—just the two of you.

Indulge a little. Come back renewed and sassy. Repeat.



8 Comments

  • Anonymous

    For time out #1 – a dog works well also. There's nothing like ambling through the woods with nothing but a lazy agenda to clear your mind.

    – Nancy

  • Rebecca Wear Robinson

    Rochelle,

    A great reminder to stop and smell the roses in a day and age when every technological gadget is beeping, twitting, ringing and demanding focus until you are too fragmented to focus on anything but the spam cascading into your inbox. Thanks!

  • Rochelle Moulton

    Woods and dogs…good combo!

  • Rochelle Moulton

    Hey Rebecca,
    Summertime in Chicago is a glorious thing–even when you're launching a game-changer. Congrats on your Jabari launch today!
    Rochelle

  • Ed Rosenbaum

    Hi Rebecca,
    These are some great suggestions. I just told my wife I will be playing golf every Wednesday through Labor Day. At least one of us seemed to like the idea.

  • Rochelle Moulton

    Then you better not forget #3 Ed 🙂

  • Liz Guthridge, The Lean Communicator

    Great post, Rochelle! I like to combine #1 and #3 with my working dog Gustav, who's a Therapy Pet. We visit residents in a nursing home and then head for the off leash dog park. It's fun volunteering with him. Reading the Wall Street Journal today, though, I learned we may be outsourced with Paro the Robo-Seal. I'm hoping that won't happen for awhile though….Happy Summer Solstice everyone!

  • Rochelle Moulton

    Love your approach Liz. Paro could never replace Gustav–please tell me the real furry deal still trumps robots!

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