Thoughts Undone Counselling

Don’t get me wrong, summer is a lovely season. It’s warm, energetic, sunny, and inviting. It can also be somewhat disruptive, though, in how the flow of a summer day can sometimes interrupt our routines.

I’m likely not the only person who will put off doing work on a warm weekday afternoon if the opportunity to go out and do something presents itself (and if I’m genuinely able to, of course). Summer is also when a lot of people take vacations, often naturally ‘disrupting’ the day-to-day routine that comes with work and life.

Sometimes shame or guilt accompanies this disruption. If we feel pulled to go out in the sun when we should be doing work, we may feel bad about it.

What if we embraced rhythms over routines, instead?

Following a rhythm means that we’re flexible and responsive to internal cues and external changes and acknowledges that energy, emotion, and creativity don’t follow a strict schedule.

That’s not to say that we dump all of our responsibilities and routines in favour of having fun. But maybe it does give us a bit more space to be kind to ourselves when we’re pulled away from what we typically do on a Monday afternoon at 2pm.

If the idea of moving entirely with rhythm over routine feels like too much, we could also implement mini routines as a sort of anchor for our days and weeks - something like morning and evening bookends, having a few non-negotiables throughout our days (like move, eat, rest), or having a weekly ritual like a Sunday reset.

🌞 How do you notice your energy and attention shifting in the summer months 🌞

As I think about transitions and transformations with the season, I think about the person I have become over the last few years, and how many times I have found myself in seasons of change.

The answer is non-stop. Continuous. Ever evolving. We are always going through changes, whether it is clear to us or not. This can come with its own anxieties, but within all of change, we can connect to the comfort that even when there were big question marks hanging around us, we have found our way through, likely many times before.

I find this to be helpful in moments when I feel unsure. Because I can’t tell my younger self this, I remind my present self of the strength and wisdom accumulated through my years on this earth thus far - this propels me forward.

Have you ever felt uncertain about yourself or your path? When were they? How did you overcome them?

It doesn’t feel like almost two whole years have passed since I last made a post on here (whoops!). In some ways, I don’t know where the time has gone. In other ways, I know that I have been focused on other life tasks and experiences.

There is a part of me that feels like I should have done more, and another part of me that encourages me to be gentle.

Ultimately, both sides make their point known, and as the dust settles, I am reminded to have patience for myself.

Life gets busy and takes us on interesting adventures. We say goodbye to some people and say hello to others. We make new connections and explore new places. We laugh. We feel nostalgic for what once was. We cry. We embrace, as best as we can, the shedding of layers and the blossoming of who we’re becoming. Over and over and over again.

Spring is around the corner, and like the plant bulbs laying patiently underground over the winter months, we, too, must be patient with ourselves during our dormancy and the different cycles of life.

I’m not sure what the last few years have been like for you, but I genuinely hope you are well ❤️🌱