I can’t help but think about the sweetness of summer. We wait long winter nights to expose our summer selves, where our hearts can run as free and uncaged as the waves and our hopes glow brighter than the sun. These day I feel beautifully in peace with myself, life is like a puzzle and everything is in its place. With the new greenery and bountiful nature arrives a feeling of tranquility and peace. From enjoying the salt water and chlorine to hiking, bonfires, festivals, porches and everything in between, each breath of muggy oxygen rejuvenates my sheltered lungs.
Photo: Zen
Photo: Zen
Photo: Zen
What serenity, to drive with the windows down, wind whispering through our fingertips. To wear less so we can feel more – the sun’s warmth on our bronzing shoulders, the sand between our toes, the sweaty skin of a stranger brushing past. The relief of resting our heads on a crisp pillow and succumbing to a self-induced slumber in the final hours before dawn. The extra hours, the extra freedom…to try something new. To meet someone new. To make plans to have no plans. To follow our hearts and our guts, to make decisions based on the here and the now. When we break free from the chains of our daily responsibilities, we remain only what we accomplish with our leftover time with the sun.
Photo: Zen
Photo: Zen
Photo: Zen
What is a summer state of mind? Well, at it’s most literal, it’s long days of daylight, barbecues and picnics, no school, and summer vacations. But really it’s a mindset, I believe hearkening back to our own school days when summer meant freedom. Pushing open those doors on that last day of school meant endless days of adventure, play and day-dreaming. It’s no wonder that even when we’re all grown up, leading responsible lives, we still see summer as a time to slow down the pace and step up enjoyment of life. So what’s to stop us from doing that all year long? I’m thinking that we could learn a lot from children about how to live in a summer state of mind. Every day would bring the opportunity to have an adventure, look at life with curiosity, discover new things, savor an ice cream cone–one slow lick at a time. We’d look for every opportunity to laugh and tell silly stories and jokes.
Photo: Zen
Photo: Zen
Photo: Zen
Ask our friends to come out and play. We’d try to catch the rain with our tongue, step into puddles to see them ripple, and dance barefoot in the grass. We’d live in the moment…reveling in the sun, watching the clouds, swinging in a hammock with no cares. Most important, we’d view life with a “why not” attitude, believing all things were possible. The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way that she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives and the passion she shows. And the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years. How nice to feel like that!
Photo: Zen
Photo: Zen
Photo: Zen
Photo: Zen
A pretty face, a fit body, fashion choices are meant to be enhancements, they don’t define a person. My definition of beauty is being perfectly confident in the body I have, with the eyes I was given and all the thoughts that rush in my brains. And yes, this summer I am happy, brave, super chic and feeling beautiful.
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