HANGIN' OUT

There’s something pretty wonderful about summer here in #MyHaliburtonHighlands: the recreational sports, the local markets, the arts and crafts.  But what makes the season most memorable for me is the time spent just hanging out.

I used to worry about entertaining the grandkids and guests and having planned activities, but it’s fascinating how ideas pop up for games and visits to seamlessly fill the gaps.  The Sculpture Forest and farmer’s markets, pirate parties and vegetable picking, inventing games and painting rocks, the intimacy of these ‘unimportant’ moments are what we cherish and forever remember deep in our bones, deep in those tender, resilient places within.  Yes, our bodies do store trauma, but they also store bliss.

In mid-August, we hosted our third house-concert with Juno-nominated singer/songwriter Craig Cardiff and had a wonderful weekend of comradery. The first summer, Craig put on a sensational performance under the stars and enhanced his sound using looping and beatboxing.  The second summer, with a bigger audience, he moved to the deck and added a light show that made the leaves in the maple and oak trees behind him dance. This year, anticipating a repeat of the magic, we prayed for the rain to stop. It didn’t.  And to add to the challenge of setting up and re-arranging the furniture inside, the power went out just as he was plugging in.  There may not have been any special effects that evening, but there sure was chemistry. Craig’s easy, gentle manner had us all singing along, relaxing into the moment, and opening to all the gifts he did have to offer – including pure friendship.

In this information/mobile-app age where we spend most of our time in our heads, making time and space to slow down just feels so soothing, so blissful.  It’s like our nervous system has a chance to reset and that part of ourselves that’s quick to giggle and be expressive has a chance to blossom again – no thinking required, just heart-filled time being in the magic.  Craig is a master of this, and his engaging manner and easy improvisations quickly had us all feeling like family singing and laughing around a campfire.

Now, however, that summer is coming to an end and our schedules are filling up, I’m wondering if it’s possible to maintain that ‘hangin’ out’ feel?  Does the ease have to be mothballed with the boat?  What is it about summer that helps us let down our guards and find real joy?

Maybe, whether we realize it or not, with the windows open and nature streaming in, our whole body is connecting and responding to all that is participating in life – the birds, the breeze, the rustling leaves. We’re not separate, we’re not really alone, and the innocence that is at the core of our soul gets to breathe…and smile.  The awe we express at a beautiful sunset is harmonizing with the awe that has been patiently waiting within, the joy our eyes see when a child smiles is the same joy that has been quietly residing in our heart, and the nurturing instinct we witness in nature is enlivening those instincts that have been resting within; within our bodies.

Some people have a morning ritual to help ground themselves in the state of relaxation.  Others use apps to anchor in it throughout the day.  The simplest approach I’ve learned is:  follow your breath.  When I do so, my nervous system slows down and tension dissolves away. One tell-tale sign of being anxious, I noticed, is my fingers; if they’re fidgety, it’s time to slow down and follow my breath again.

This place of calmness is not a withdrawal from problems but instead another way of approaching them.  Creativity and inspiration abound when I’m open and in harmony with life - not so much so when negativity and anxiety grip me.

At his concerts, Craig Cardiff passes around a large notebook and invites his audience to write something about themselves.  This Book of Truths allows for the storytelling to go both ways.  Here’s what I wrote:

I tried to understand everything but only saw differences.

Now I try to bless everything and see only innocence.

I thought I could get over the traumas in my past and be more graceful by studying and conforming to the ways of the old Masters.  This summer has shown me, I already am a Master.  I just have to slow down, soften my body, and connect with the blessings that surround me.