The heat has returned. It slows me down, fogs my mind, and makes me wish, I lived by a river. Water has always been my go-to for relief, renewal, and for refreshment as the days get longer and hotter.
I used to love the outdoors, the heat never bothered me, the sun on my skin turning it a welcomed bronze. It didn’t matter if it was softball or baseball, a horse show or rodeo, I never shied away from the heat. Now, I tolerate it, wear a big hat, and just wish for more water.
It’s funny how life changes what I thought would always be true. There was a time when I could stay out all day and laugh through the dust, cheer from the bleachers, a camera hanging around my neck. I could haul tack, chase kids, keep the ice chest full of drinks and wet washcloths. I was prepared for the summer, the heat inevitable. It is simply a part of summer; part of the life I loved living.
These days, summer is different for me. It slows me down; I stay inside more and listen to my body before it has to raise its voice to get my attention. I think that loving something once doesn’t mean that I have to love it the same way forever. I am learning to love and live it all, just differently.
One of the quieter gifts of getting older is that I begin to understand that life is not asking me to try to still be who I was at twenty (ha, I wish), forty, or even sixty (and swinging for the fences). Life is inviting me to meet myself where I am now; in this body, in this season, with new needs, new longings, and yes, even new limitations, without giving up those little sparks of joy that fuel my soul.
I may not be the woman who can play all day in the blazing sun anymore, but I am still a woman who loves the sound of leaves dancing in a warm breeze, the shimmer of light on water reflecting the blue sky overhead. I still love the smell of newly mowed grass, eating fresh fruit from my own trees, horses hanging out under shade trees, and the bird’s early morning songs before the heat sends everything to shade.
The stories that feed my soul may have changed, but the hunger for beauty, meaning, and aliveness has not. Maybe that’s an invitation for all of us, every new season… find what fuels your soul now.
Find what brings you relief, renewal, and refreshment in this season of your life.
For me, it is still water whether that’s a river, a lake, my kids pool, the sprinkler running across thirsty grass, or a cool, wet cloth pressed to the back of my neck.
What is yours? Is it music, paint, prayer, a book, a porch chair, a garden hose, or just a quiet room and a conversation with the seen or the unseen loves in your life.
Maybe it is letting your soul be nourished in smaller, different, simpler ways than before and discovering that they are no less joy-filled, even sacred.
The heat has returned and I am not the woman I once was in it, but I am still in it. Summer may slow me down and change how I walk through it, but maybe that’s its gift now. It gives me time to remember the river that runs within me, the place where my spirit still runs clear, cool, and alive.
This summer, find what is inviting you to come home to what still nourishes your body, mind, heart, and soul.
In the shade and still swimming through cool waters.
Please enjoy my Free PDF
“Planning the Path Ahead, Manifesting Your Dream”
Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram
Vicki Dobbs is a bold and adventurous warrior walking a path of heart to manifest spirituality in everyday lives. She opens existential gateways for individuals to face their challenges and embrace these tests as the great teachers that they are.
Her goal is to see everyone walk in beauty and balance every day of their lives empowered by the voice of their own authentic truth.
Through Wisdom Evolution and Sacred Wisdom Workshops, Vicki creates opportunities for others to make deep personal changes through experiential classes, ceremony, sacred art and story. She endeavors to inspire others to create their lives intentionally. Vicki is an Inspirator of everyday awareness, an Instigator of spontaneous stories and a Connoisseur of Creativity. Gratitude and grace sprinkled with humility and humor are the medicine she brings to the world.
As an Elder, Teacher and Entrepreneur, Spiritual Coach, Ordained Minister and Crafter of Sacred Art and Tools, Vicki perceives life’s journey as an ever-upward spiraling ascension of the human spirit leading her to wisdom, wholeness and authenticity.
Her experience includes being trained in the Harner Method of Shamanic Counseling and the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Cross Cultural Shamanism. She is a Graduate Teacher and Mentor with the Lynn Andrews Center For Sacred Arts and Training and has been the Administrator and Writers Guide for Writing Spirit, the School.
Vicki is also an Artist of the Spirit Certified Spiritual and Energetic Life Coach, a Graduate Mentor in the AoS program and a founding member of HeatherAsh Amara’s Warrior Goddess Leadership Team and Facilitator of the Warrior Heart Practice.
Connect with Vicki here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vickildobbsauthor