am i letting my light shine—even a little bit?
Summer Greetings, Friend!
You have so many more gifts than you give yourself credit for.
Gifts that rise from many parts of you--some of these gifts are strategic, some tangible, some relational, some magical.
And each & every one of them is needed by this world.
In the Well-Seasoned Woman's world, we use feminine archetypes to help us more freely & fully FLOW into each season and each season's unique purpose, in keeping with the ancient wisdom that declares, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Archetypes help us access something important that might otherwise remain unnamed, unacknowledged, and unlived.
Well-Seasoned Women are on a quest to live our wild and precious lives to their fullest extent in a way that combats perpetual exhaustion and instead nurtures self-sustaining vitality, creative flow, & connection with who and what matters most to us.
Archetypes can help us do just that.
Today, June 21, we are experiencing an energetic shift from one season--and one archetype--to the next.
The Summer Solstice is an annual “sky event” that occurs when the earth's annual rotation and tilt in relation to the Sun results in our experiencing a time of maximum light.
After today, we'll begin slowly losing light (about a minute per day) until we reach the time of maximum dark, at the Winter Solstice in December.
You can read more about this time of year & curate ideas for creating a Sumer Solstice ritual of your own by reading my blog, here.
What this all means is that for the next few weeks, we're provided the opportunity of reveling in all things pulsing with Summer's unique energy.
In the long and lingering daylight hours, gardens are thriving, baby animals are maturing, fields of grain are shooting up and ripening, orchards are fruiting, and farmers are “making hay while the sun shines."
Even summer nights are super-charged with activity-- the fertile energy of bioluminescent firefly light and exuberant insect song, of frog chorus and fox prowling.
In the world of feminine archetypes, Summer is the Season of the MOTHER--for what other role is better defined by the stretched-out feeling of long hours, hard work, and sacrifice on behalf of bringing something immature to its maturity--than that of the MOTHER?
Who else can help us identify the places in our own lives where we are showing up when the heat is on than the universal Mother?
Who else teaches us how to connect with our most primal, relational drive to nurture & protect what is vulnerable but the cosmic Mother?
Some of us--like my three daughters-- are all about living into a traditional, tangible version of the archetyal MOTHER right now.
If this is also you, then your days (and nights--whew!) are filled with teething, potty training, and crayon-art. Or maybe with soccer practices, orthondotic visits, and homework. Or perhaps with driving lessons, summer jobs, and prom pictures.
And, just know, we are sending you ALL the love right now because you need it! Your days feels incredibly long, but, in the big picture, the years move quickly. Hang in there, Mama! Your work is worthwhile & you are a SUMMER GODDESS! Shine on--with or without the glitter and glue, okay?
Others of us--like my own journey with mothering The Well-Seasoned Woman's Journal into its published release-- are currently engaged with/can relate to MOTHERING a garden or pet or home reno/art project to its completion.
Regardless of where we are in our personal, unique MOTHERING seasons, we can all access MOTHER wisdom in the natural world surrounding us each and every Summer. Mama Nature has much to teach us right now about how to embody the goodness of the MOTHER--all we have to do is pay attention to what she is showing us!
Summer is a great time to reflect on/practice living into our responses to questions such as these:
What really lights me up?
How do I respond when “the heat is on”?
What work is meaningful to me?
How can I shine my light more brightly into the world?
How strong & balanced is my work ethic?
How well do I rejoice in the fruits of my labor?
I struggle most with taking the time to rejoice in the fruits of my labor. I mean, I'm much more prone to achieve the thing & then quickly fill my TO DO list with even more work, pretty much before I've completed a full inhale/exhale. Sigh.
That's why this summer, I'm going to pay attention more closely to the joy & satisfaction surrounding me in the natural world.
I'm determined to figure out how to be as happy as a peach and as satisfied as a Mama Bear watching her cubs grow & frolic.
You can quote me on that :)
How about you? Which of the summer prompts is provoking you the most? Which of your innate gifts is longing for its full expression right this very minute?
Why not trying developing a couple of goals meant to help you tap into your own unique, "get 'er done" SUMMER magic?
Mostly because the world needs what we have to offer it.
