Hello my friends,
I hope today’s letter finds you well.
A few weeks ago, I told myself I really wanted to enjoy this summer. Whatever the weather. To be very mindful of what is happening in my life, how I am spending my time and who with. Not just during the weekends or holidays but every day.
And then I asked myself what it actually meant to enjoy my summer. What did it mean to me? How was it going to look like?
And not surprisingly, good old action-oriented plan started coming out. Want to do this, want to do that, want to work on this, want to go and see these places, want to finish that….
Luckily, I swiftly caught myself and realized that what I started ‘plotting’ was no different from my pre-summer months. Maybe the nature of the activities changed but when I looked at my list, it just looked like another action plan – filled with after-work activities. Didn’t feel so good.
Why am I writing about this?
Because I find it fascinating how we often believe we are in charge of our own thoughts and actions while the truth is that most of the time, it is the other way round. Mindfulness might be a fancy word everyone talks about these days but for most of us, staying mindful is an everyday process of checking in with our inner world. And that, my friends, have nothing to do with any sort of action planning.
And so, I threw my action plan away and asked myself a different question. How do I want to FEEL this summer? And a very different list started coming out. A list that felt much more aligned with what I was looking for.
As always, I invite you to pause a little and check in with yourself. Give yourself a little bit of time to hear what you (not people and circumstances around you) want. And if what you’re after is an action-packed list of summer activities, absolutely go for it!
Wherever you are in the world – swimming in the sea or experiencing another lockdown – as always, I am sending lots of love.
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Stay well and enjoy your summer.
Michaela xx