“There is a lot that needs to be done in society –  work against war, social injustice, and so on.  But first we have to come back to our own territory and make sure that peace and harmony are reigning there.  Until we do that, we cannot do anything for society.” – thich nhat hanh

There is definitely an over abundance of upheaval, injustice and wrong doing happening in the world right now just as I suspect there are challenging events happening in your own life as well. As caring and compassionate human beings we want to and are capable of, taking meaningful action to address these personal and global challenges but not when we are depleted.   Our actions have less power and our under resourced condition deprives us of the creativity that leads to sustainable solutions. 

What is a kind and concerned person to do?

As the quote suggests, you need to start with yourself.  I, for one, know that I need a tune up in the joy department and since summer has just officially arrived, there’s no better time to give some attention to lightening up. 

I’m not suggesting that we ignore what’s going on and force ourselves into a falsely positive attitude. I am saying that along side our actions for personal, political and spiritual change we can also choose more often in favor of joy, fun and pleasure.  We need to actively choose joy everyday so that we don’t fall into the belief that life is always a slog and nothing good ever happens. 

Summer is the season for playfulness, light heartedness, creativity and general juiciness!  Taking advantage of this energy is the best way to arrive at the end of your summer feeling like you have had a summer.  You have to be intentional and make daily choices that will feed your “joy bank” helping you to build a storehouse of energy for anything on which you need to take action. 

My suggestion (take it or leave it, it’s always your choice) is to pick a theme for your summer.  Call it ‘The Summer of Splash Pads’, ‘Adventures in Parking Lot Midways’, The Epic Food Truck Tasting Tour of 2018’, ‘#Festival Fever’ …. do you get the idea?  Decide what you want more of this summer whether it’s hammocks and comic books, perfecting your gourmet popsicle recipe, learning to skim board or becoming the neighborhood champion bean bag tosser – make the decision and then go for it!  Every morning when you wake up, ask yourself “what is one thing I can do today to make my theme come alive?”  Then Do IT!

What I know for sure is that whatever we focus our attention on, it will grow.  I also know that when we intentionally build fun, joy and pleasure into our days we are amassing the fuel and resources to meet the challenges in life with more ease.  If you want to make a change in your life, family, community, country or world, start with yourself and start with joy!

Wishing you a juicy summer season….

Love,