Busy Summers & Finding Time For The Soul

All of a sudden, it’s the middle of July—the height of summer for us Northern Hemisphere humans—and it seems like it’s full-on everything.

Days spent running in all directions,

• activity to activity

• drop-offs & pick-ups

• work & dentist appointments

• farm stands & grocery stores

• swimming holes & camps & all the places

We’re elbow-deep in craft supplies, projects, & play-doh, stumbling over hot wheels and half-finished Lego sets, trying (& failing) to keep the dirty feet and PB&J smudges from taking over the house.

Meanwhile,

• time alone is a figment of our imaginations

• quiet morning reading is something else entirely

• yoga mats sit untouched

• exercise routines squeeze into the smallest corners of our calendars

• evening hours fill with baseball games, dinners with friends, extra time at the lake

This is summer.

Sweet in so many ways, extra-full on so many fronts, contentment and gratitude ripe for the picking, often in firehose quantities. Yet it’s harder than ever to find time for nourishing our souls.

Here’s what I recommend ⤵

• Dropping a few balls

• Extra watermelon & strawberries all around

• Letting Libro.fm read a few good books to you

• Setting up something soul-filling to look forward to when things slow down—right there at home or, of course, I’d love to have you here in Maine with me at my fall retreat

Here’s what’s keeping me afloat right now ⤵

#1 — Sneaking into the woods for 10-minute walks with my favorite audio actor Julia Whelan reading Tara Westover’s gorgeous memoir Educated in my earbuds

• Here’s the link to the Educated audiobook

• Here’s a link to the impressive library of Julia Whelan’s delicious narration

#2 — Using car time to listen to Yvon Chouinard’s mind-blowing story about starting Patagonia and keeping it socially responsible and a badass world-changing business

• Here’s the link to his audiobook Let My People Go Surfing

• Here’s a link to an interview he did on Guy Raz’s NPR show “How I Built This”

#3 — Letting myself feel really, deeply happy about the beautiful little things all around me

• deep breaths

• clean air

• bright green trees

• smiling faces

• camping trips

• hiking with girlfriends

• piles of art projects in kids’ rooms

• coffee dates with my people

• starting to buy school supplies for a new school year ( & launching one kid into college & an unexpected return to homeschooling for the other—eek!!)

• so many beautiful, quirky, independent bookshops to visit

• & so many ways to support those small bookshops with my reading habit even when I’m not traveling (Want to know a little more about this? Here’s why I switched to Libro.fm from Audible & Here’s why I switched to Bookshop.org from Amazon)

Come retreat with me in Maine this October!

• Find creative inspiration and a personal reset

• Explore the ocean paths and mountains of Acadia & Bar Harbor

• Connect with like-minded women in a small group environment

• Journal & paint with watercolors as creative expression

• Learn techniques for personal growth

• Enjoy a weekend of healthy cuisine & outdoor exploration

• Engage in intentional daily practices

• Ground, clarify, visualize, rejuvenate, & spark creativity

• Make new friends

• Create bonds that will last well beyond our time together

• Find joy, play, laugh, slow down, & have fun

• Soak up the beauty of Maine!

Visit the retreat page for more details and how to register.