To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: [Ecclesiastes 3:1]
Summer is the season that calls us to lay down our spreadsheets, our work, our concerns, and go out into the world. This summer, I’m noticing that call is louder than ever. For some of us, going outside is just the medicine we need, others need something different. But all of us, after the trauma of this past 15 months, all of us are soul weary to a greater or lesser extent. So I’d like to encourage us to devote this summer to restoring, renewing, healing our spirits, our bodies, our hearts, our souls.
I suggested to Renee Ruchotzke that it was time to just let our fields lay fallow, as they mention in the bible, but she is a permaculture gardener, and she reminded me that when you let a field go fallow, just let anything grow, sometimes opportunist plants and critters will come fill in the vacuum left by our usual crops. She reminded me that wise farmers use cover crops- things like clover or rye that bring nutrients back into the soil, and yet protect the soil from erosion, from invasive things.
I immediately saw the wisdom this garden metaphor in my own life. Sometimes when I just “do nothing” I find myself playing some game on my phone, or doom scrolling Facebook, and find when I look up the afternoon is gone and I don’t actually feel rested. So today I’d like to ask you to consider “what is the cover crop I need for my spirit?”
Some folks know right away- sailing, gardening, just sitting and watching the wind in the trees or the birds at the feeder. Some of you pick up a guitar, or a paint brush, or a good book. This season when we have been so physically distant for so long, reconnected with old friends, playing Candyland 100 times with a preschooler may be just the thing. Let’s take a moment for each of us to reflect, what are the things you have done in the past summers that have helped you renew your heart and spirit? Take a moment now for your own reflection...
Sometimes I am so depleted, I can’t even thing of a single thing that would help. And, in fact, we have been changed by the events of the past year, and it’s possible that things that worked before may not work now. I have found that when I am stumped about what my spirit might need, this is the perfect time for what Ian Frasier called “higher sort of un-purpose,” I have found that if I can make it to the front porch and just sit, eventually my attention will be captured by the twitter of the birds, or the antics of the squirrels, and somehow I can (as Berry says) “rest in the grace of the world.”
Other times my spirit needs a container, something with a beginning, middle and end. Sometimes just going for a walk and coming back can be enough. For those of us who have a preference or a need to stay inside -- from a comfy chair one can journey through a handheld labyrinth, or listen to a favorite album, or enjoy the quiet repetition of knitting. Lately, I like to color mandalas and listening to music. Sometimes even washing the dishes can be restorative and grounding.
Some of us get time off in the summer, for others it is their busiest season. All of us need time for our spirits, whether a week of vacation or just a few moments on the porch with our morning coffee. This summer I encourage you to experiment, play, explore, try stuff- Dance in your kitchen, splash in puddles, sing old camp songs, or crank your speakers loud. Notice what nourishes and restores you. Ask your spirit what it needs next and listen when it answers. This summer is the season to rejoice that you are alive, to heal whatever needs healing. May this summer be the season seeking whatever subtle medicine your spirit needs.
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