August means coming home π»
... and settling into the golden, mellow, waning season of late summer
Hello, lovely.
Itβs been a while. All of July and the first week of August, to be exact. How has summer unfolded for you? Have you found yourself in the midst of lazy, relaxing summer vibes or hectic, adventurous energy? Or something completely different?
I mentioned in my last letter to you that I knew that this July (my summer vacation) would be intense, chaotic, and stormy due to two very difficult personal crises. And my intuition was spot on. It was indeed all of those things for me.
Well, July has now come and gone, and I am still processing it all. It was, without a doubt, one of the toughest months of my life thus far. I did my best to hold on and stay grounded, to go with the flow, as the storms raged around me; but it was hard. Some moments I felt as if I was drowning or breaking. Other moments I was able to come up for air, and even float for just a moment, before the seas turned angry again.
I feel different now. Not just tired, physically and emotionally. But, changed by this summer. I am pretty sure that I will need the months ahead to really process and understand who I am now. And that is both a daunting, frightening thing; while also being an exciting and mysterious evolution. An unfolding into a higher, deeper, wiser me.
Just before returning home, Lina and I spent the very last 48 hours of our 3 weeks in the States in New York City - the city that is our creative muse. We almost always book a couple of days in NYC at the beginning or end of our trips to the States. It gives us a very short time to soak in the very special energy, vibes, and inspiration that we carry with us into our everyday lives. It is a place where we fill our souls and find a sense of connection to all that we are meant for.
We booked our trip back in March, way before we knew about the storms that this summer would bring. Turns out, ending our summer vacation in NYC was exactly the reset button we would need. It was a quick, perfect way to shift into August and welcome in a whole different energy.
Of course, NYC did not erase all of the pain, grief, and sadness of the summer. The crises continue. (By the way, I am so sorry for not being more specific about what is going on and what I/we are going through. I am not trying to be click-batey or secretive. I just need to keep the deets to myself right now. Our of respect for my own feelings, boundaries, and processes - plus those of my loved ones. Hope you understand, my friend). It did, however, help to usher in the month of August and serve as a threshold into a new season. And the perfect transition for heading home.
After our 48 hours in NYC, we arrived home just in time for 2 days to land and get ready to head back to work. We discussed taking off 2 extra days (yesterday and today) to give us 4 days to adjust and rest after all of the chaos of the summer before jumping back into the daily grind since this was, in no way, a relaxing and restful summer vacation. And there was no way that we could just jump back into it all.
Turns out, as soon as we landed in Sweden my body said, βEnough!β I developed an intense head and chest cold, which I am still fighting off. My body always tells me when I need to rest. And, even though I was already thinking proactively about taking some days off, my body insisted that I do nothing for 4 days.
So, here I am. Stuffy nose, cough, aches, and pains. In bed, writing to you. Letting my entire self - spirit, soul, body, mind, everything⦠just rest.
Tomorrow, though, I return to my daily rhythms, routines, and rituals. And, while I would love to have another month off (who wouldnβt?!), my soul is whispering to me that returning home to my life is exactly what I need right now. I am super consciously aware that this is what is right.
This year, August feels like a season to soften. To help me continue to deal with the crises that continue in my life. But, also to be slow, gentle, and intentional in returning home. Home to my daily routines and rituals. Home to the rhythms of my everyday life and the seasons of the year. I need to find rooted balance again.
However, this August also feels like the beginning of a long, autumnal quest of quietly and slowly discovering what home really means to me now.
Is it a place? Is it a person or persons? Is it inside me? Do I find my home, create my home, or carry my home with me? Or is it a mix of all three? What are all of the homes in my life?
Writing and processing this weekend has opened up some ideas and ways that I can uncover and tap into my own beliefs and ideas about home. And what could be a better season for focusing on home + hearth than the cozy season of autumn?
Now, I have no plans, no goals, no to-do lists. But, I do have an intention for the next few months - and that is to simply explore what home means to me. So far, I have been inspired to think of home in 3 different ways: the home within me, the home in which I live, and the people who make up a home.
What is home to me?
Creating space within: practicing meditation, journaling, mindfulness, rituals.
Creating a sanctuary: making a cozy, warm, seasonally-inspired home
Creating a community: spending time with people who inspire, support, and vice-versa
This autumn, in the midst of work and life and grief and all of it, I want to spend time with each of these spaces. I want to snuggle up with them, spend time with them, write about them, meditate on them. Maybe I will take one per month, or maybe I will just flow back and forth through them all for the rest of 2023. Who knows?
All I know is that this focus on home will be a chance for me to feel grounded, rooted, and aligned as life continues to evolve and change.
August invites us all to come home. To soak in those last warm, golden moments of summer and to slowly begin to prepare for the season of autumn. The energy of the year is waning. The first harvest is upon us. And, after a tumultuous summer, Iβm looking forward to the slow, mellow days of sinking back into the rhythm of daily life.
Hereβs to wishing us all a warm, golden, grounded August. A chance to soak up the sun, find our footing again, and turn homeward.
xoxo. liz.
My dear friend, welcome back/ home. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and pictures. As always I am so glad to be able to follow along, even just for a little bit. Home can evolve as you do. For me, it is a feeling, people, language, not houses or places, specifically. Of course, I call my parent's house my home. But right now, on a rainy morning in Sweden, I feel at home too. I hope for you to find your new balance and sense of home. Maybe that is why August has greeted us with a storm. To make room for new things to come. Lots of love. G