A Mid-Summer's Day Perspective Shift
It was there, in the water, after my close call with the scary-ass but non-threatening shark (he was just surfing too, after all), when it hit me. As Pete and my plans to go to Costa Rica for good and completely change our lives, I have everything I need already around me. As I constantly search for ways to make my dreams come true, I find I am perfectly content with what is, and that anything I could possibly dream has already come true. Yes, there can always be something better, or different, or grander. But being happy with what you have and with the joy of your daily life is what it's all about. Whether we move to another country or whether I grow deeper roots in this community, I know I'll be content and present. The closer we get to change, the more we appreciate things the way they are.
Fresh Lavender Lemonade Recipe
Summer's Nectar
There are many ways to make this recipe using dried lavender leaves/flowers, lavender oil, or fresh leaves/flowers (or a combination of all three!). This recipe just deals with the basics. Lemons, fresh lavender, water, and your favorite sweetener - and that's it! (Oh, maybe some ice, too!).
This recipe is the perfect non-alcoholic drink to mix up to appease your friends at any occasion (think summer BBQ, baby shower, kids birthday party, or housewarming party!) or as I said above, you can easily make it more adult-like. Got a lemon tree? Even better. Pick some ripe lemon, cut a few leaves and stem of lavender, and head insider to concoct your masterpiece. Squeeze, steep, shake, slurp - ahhhh... summer's nectar.
Summer's Beginnings and the Inevitability of Letting Go
The theme that has been recurring for me the last few years of my life and especially in the last few weeks has been the idea that with every new beginning, there are inevitable endings. Each time I create my desires into form and manifest new opportunities, I must let go of other opportunities and miss out on things I created before or in other places of the world. We can't be in two places at once, after all. At least I haven't figured out how to be, yet. To create space for the new, there must be some old that gets squeezed out. And so the work is to create space for the new and to grieve what won't be anymore, and allowing ourself the time to release attachments to titles, situations, or belongings, seeing ourselves as independent of our circumstance so that we can truly be free to flow with the current of life.