Living With The Seasons - Part 3

This is the third part of my four-part series on living with the seasons. We are heading into Summer, officially on Summer Solstice, but for simplicity I will follow mainstream seasonal changes. Once again, I remind you that our four seasons have an element and a humour attached to them. An element is either air, water, earth or fire (some people believe in a fifth element - ether) and each element is defined by a humour and its qualities. We are not going to get into humours in this post but rather their qualities in relation to the seasons. So the elements are attached to the seasons and each element has a quality or humour as follows:

• Spring - Air - wet to hot

• Summer - Fire - hot to dry

• Autumn - Earth - dry to cold

• Winter - Water - cold to wet

Summer has the element fire attached to it. Where I live in Western Australia, fire is our worst enemy in summer when everything is so dry. Last year we had terrible fires that saw my sister nearly lose her house. It was a harrowing summer and I pray we don't experience the same this year. The energy of summer is very connected to our solar plexus chakra. It is a real motivator to get things done, to have the willpower to keep those projects moving forward from the planning that we did in Spring. With so much extra light and not needing to "rug up" to go outside, there is something innate within us that knows that Summer is the time where we need to take advantage of every last drop of light and get those projects acted upon.

Fire is a very passionate element. It is associated with the Suit of Wands in the Tarot, which are about your spirituality, passions, and what motivates you. It is also another fast moving energy and like all the elements has the ability to nurture or destroy, as we saw last year with the bush fires. It is the type of energy that pushes you forward to continue to take action, to nurture your projects and watch them grow and mature, ready for harvest in late Summer/Autumn.

Here in Australia, we celebrate Christmas in Summer and our kids have their summer holidays from school. There is that lazy, spend all day on the beach kind of vibe, that actually goes against the energy of summer, although no matter what season it is, we all need our downtime. Summer energy can help you get all those jobs done around the house, especially early Summer, when there is a little of the Spring energy still hanging about. By late Summer our weather can be so hot and everything is dry, like a cinder box waiting to go off. The moisture has been sucked from everything and I find it useful to try and do most of the bigger projects at the beginning of summer when you have more momentum.

So, how do you make the best use of the Summer energy and still have time to sit by the pool? Here are some suggestions:

• Make sure you're harvesting those veggies you planted in Spring. As I said in the last post in this series, get the kids involved;

• With all this beautiful weather you should take advantage of spending as much time out in nature as you can. The beach is a great alternative to the National Parks when it gets too hot;

• Remember to be sun safe. I believe that it is beneficial to our health to get at least 15 minutes of sun on our bodies every day. I try to do this in the early hours of the morning when the UV Index is low, but if you're out in the sun any later than that, make sure you have protection - slip, slop, slap. Try to be inside during the hottest part of the day;

• Add extra fruit to your diet. There are so many yummy summer fruits; add plums, nectarines, cherries, or melons to breakfasts, lunches or dinners. Get as much variety as you can and eat with the seasons.

• Sit down and plan as a family what projects you want to do over the summer months and plan to get them completed before the really hot weather comes in;

• Be conscious of how much water you're using. Our planet desperately needs us to stop wasting our resources. Without water, we wouldn't be around for very long, so maybe changing all your taps and faucets to Waterwise ones could be one of your projects, and on that note remembering to up your water intake so you don't get dehydrated or heat stroke;

• Plan to do the energetic stuff in the morning so that you can chill out in the afternoon. Margaritas anyone?

• Yes I'm suggesting it again...breathe. If the heat is getting you down use your breath and visualisation to cool your core temperature down. Imagine somewhere cold and snowy whilst doing some Even Breathing (video in the Resources section of this website). It won't make you put on a jumper but should keep you cooler until you can get to some air conditioning.

• Lastly, remember to have fun. That's what life is about, isn't it?

Summer can be a great time, it's not my favourite season (I don't handle the heat very well) but if you're needing that energetic push to take action on your projects and goals, then Summer is definitely where you want to be.

Until next time...

Photo Credit: Saulius Butkus - Unsplash

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