Summertime can be a difficult time for many of us, especially for people with children at home, extended family visiting, holiday plans either going well or not so well, and it can be hard to find moments of quiet and peace. It can all feel rather overwhelming.
Meditation practices can go out of the window in the mad rush to cope or to enjoy ourselves. PersonalIy, I sometimes find it quite hard to sit down and meditate in the summer months when it’s hot, the sun is shining and I just want to be outside. Of course, we can use being in nature as a time for meditation but it can often be punctuated by increasing demands on us from family, friends and ourselves!
Stealth meditations or mindful moments can be very useful during the summer months. As can moments of gratitude. We don't necessarily have to sit down for a long practice if it's not possible; even a moment taking in a beautiful view or just looking up into the sky and feeling grateful can quieten the mind and anchor us.
Or you could be more extreme... as you may know, I moved to Suffolk, about 10 minutes away from the beach, and so last week the sun was shining and I decided to take the plunge. Yes, cold water swimming in the North Sea. I finally did it! So most days at about 8am in the morning you’ll find me down on Aldeburgh beach with my little beach chair, my dry robe, my changing towel, my breakfast, a warm drink, a water bottle and my book, I like to be prepared, and already dressed in a swimming costume because I know that if I don't go in immediately, it's not going to happen.
Wow! The exhilaration of the cold water on my feet going up to my knees and then swimming out has been incredible. A sort of meditation in itself. I feel free, peaceful and happy and dare I say it, at one with myself. And there's always the possibility of being dumped by a wave and ending up submerged underwater, and brought back to earth, which happened to me one morning. But even that hasn't put me off.
Then I take a moment just to sit on the beach looking out at the horizon and the sun twinkling on the sea. And I’ve been reminded of just how powerful gratitude can be to uplift us and those around us. So my practice recently has been to turn my thoughts and feelings to those of gratitude whenever I remember – from queueing in the supermarket to annoying flies buzzing round the room as I type, and finding something to be grateful for in each situation.
Sharon Salzberg says, ‘being grateful doesn’t mean I have to keep a gratitude jar that counts my blessings. It just means I can reset my thoughts, just like in meditation, and choose instead to gently settle my attention on something positive’.
So, however and whenever you can, I encourage you to find and savour moments of gratitude.
Catherine Thomlinson