b’vive.

Part 1: Your guide to an intentional summer

It had been the kind of summer day that makes your heart want to explode. 

My daughter and I spent the afternoon at the pool and were heading home for dinner. Our city hosts an outdoor summer concert series and I had forgotten that it was a concert night. As we drove past the gathering crowd, my daughter, who was in grade school, asked, “Can we go?”

You know that feeling when you immediately tense up. Your brain hasn’t caught up to the logic yet, but your heart knows that you’re treading dangerous territory. In this case, dangerous territory would be staying out too late and not being able to get up for my morning workout.

I immediately felt so lame. 

Riding high on the energy of the sun and chlorine fumes, I said yes to that concert and made one of my most favorite summer memories.

There is a tendency going into an especially fun season or event to think it has to be all or nothing. This weekend is going to be total debauchery. Or this weekend is going to be so hard. It doesn’t have to be either or. There can be a scale and we can think about adding more balance to the scale.

It’s about how we frame it in our minds. 

But if we set our minds to it, it can be really nourishing and restorative. 

A single thought does not define you. But repeated ones can.

I don’t remember where I first read that, but it has been sticking with me and reminds me of the teachings from spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle who often shares that our thoughts and thinking patterns can shape who we are.

You have been honoring that workout routine like a religion. You know where it fits in your day between getting kids to school and all of the other things.

You know your healthy recipes and your go-to lunches. Your nighttime routine is serving you well.

You see the summer fun training coming and your heart tightens a little bit and your thoughts go to a not fun place. How will you hold on to your routines and healthy habits that are serving you, and enjoy the barbecues and pool time and summer fun?

That concert night was one of many, the neighborhood outdoor concerts have become a staple summer event for me. The experience of the live band, the sometimes still a bit to warm summer air, the energy of the crowd, a mix of new parents and empty nesters— the entire energy of it is summer to me. You can show up in your pool clothes or step above. No one cares. Sit enjoy the music. Listen to the band. Dance your heart out and my God love the one you are with. 

So, when I think about summer. That’s how I want to feel. 

Energized. Relaxed. And abundantly loved. 

In my Let Summer Workshop, we work through how to identify those quintessential summer moments. And how they can guide you through this summer — the summer of your life. 

Three questions to get you started.

How do I want to feel this summer?

What is my mindset or thought pattern? What is the story I am telling myself? 

What do I really care about? What will I prioritize this summer?

I hope you will try my Let Summer Workshop and set your intention to feel your best – mind, body and joy this summer.

It’s years later. My daughter is old enough now that she would rather go to concerts with her friends than her mom. I am so grateful I made that memory when I had the chance.

I am not literally going to an outdoor concert every night of summer. But damn if I’m not going to feel like it. 

Be well, my lovelies. 

Read part 2: What’s Your Chai Tea?