Savoring Season 2023
As summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere, the pace of life seems to slow down even as our desire to enjoy all things outdoors ramps up. Sometimes the hot weather and lack of routine can feel as sticky as the juice dripping down your fingers as you attempt to cool yourself down with slice of sweet watermelon.
Summer feels like a season to savor. The thing is, savoring can sound good in theory, but those of us in the United States, in particular, aren’t so great at stopping to savor il dolce far niente or “the sweetness of doing nothing” (an Italian phrase I came across in the book Care by Australian author Brooke McAlary). As a society, we tend to feel guilty for not always working hard or continuing to strive to do more. Our lives are filled with distractions that keep us from being able to savor anything other than our to-do list. However, when I make a point to set down my to-do list (both mentally and physically) and focus on savoring, the summer can be rejuvenating rather than yet another season of exhaustion.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we experience diminishing returns on our efforts to optimise, meaning that at some point, the tiny gains we make are outweighed by the stress and effort of trying to achieve them.
But there is a difference between wanting to grow and wanting to optimise ourselves for no other reason than we think we should. One is an internal desire to evolve, the other is in response to external pressures.”
-Brooke McAlary, author of Care
If you find me wandering around a farmers’ market, working quietly in the garden, noticing the early morning light on the porch with my hands wrapped around a mug of tea (or sipping a cold glass of iced tea in the heat of summer), admiring the flowers growing on a neighborhood walk, enjoying a leisurely bike ride, or with my nose in a book somewhere outside in the shade, you’ll probably notice from the lightness in my mood that I am in my element. A curious person by nature, when I am filled with wonder, even on a small scale, my heart is full.
This watercolor painting by Warren Taylor was inspired by a photograph my grandmother took of me as a child
While walking around my dad’s garden a few weeks ago, my dad and I both agreed that watering our garden by hand, as inefficient as it may be, gives us a chance to check on each individual plant to see how they are growing and what new blooms have popped out overnight. I think savoring means spending time wandering, noticing, taking in the wonder of daily life, and not always needing to act. For me, this sometimes means putting my camera away, letting my thoughts have time to breathe before writing, or adding fewer tasks to our calendar to make room for spontaneity.
“Awe has a sister and her name is wonder: She’s the feeling of amazement and admiration you may encounter when experiencing something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar.”
-Brooke McAlary, author of Care
In the book Care, author Brooke McAlary breaks down what she calls “Small Care” into chapters which include: connection, kindness, awe, nature, making, movement, play, rest, and healing.
Over the years, I’ve slowly incorporated many of the ideas she shared in the book (including a daily 20-minute nap that I take in the form of yoga nidra), and her writing reinforced why I feel my best when “Small Care” is present in my life.
“We embrace idle time. . .
. . .we stop seeing quiet moments as empty vessels into which we pour productivity.”
-Brooke McAlary, author of Care
Recently, Brooke McAlary wrote about feeling okay with life being just fine. Years ago, I would have read the words “just fine” or “content” as not enough or mediocre. Now I realize now that being content with my life actually feels like peace and calm as it means what I have and who I am is enough. Contentment ends the cycle of striving.
Life will never be without important and necessary tasks that need to be completed. I just need to constantly check in to make sure they align with our family values and my own personal energy. Even when I choose to savor summer days, there will still be meals to make with my family (and the groceries required for those meals), driving practice sessions with my teenager, our dog that needs multiple walks a day, laundry piles, and the need to plan ahead for upcoming trips and appointments.
Savoring can mean choosing how I move through these tasks. I actively choose to savor my time when I admire the sunrise while I type this blog post, enjoy my daily tea on the porch, walk our dog along a path filled with wildflowers, take a full hour lunch break, try a new restaurant or food that satisfies my need for wonder and feeds my family, and enjoy seeing my child grow into a young adult while gaining his independence to drive on his own.
I can choose to see these daily practices as chores, or I can see them as ways to savor my life and this season, even when challenges arise. When I practice being content and not checking everything off my endless to-do list (and curbing my need to create an unattainable to-do list to begin with), I am nurturing my well-being and reserving my energy for savoring my life.
(With “Small Care” in mind, I don’t have a video to share this week, just a few photos of beautiful peonies on a morning walk and my farmers’ market finds. I think it’s important for me to limit technology when I have the opportunity, and that sometimes means just savoring the moment without my camera in hand.)
On a side note, I share Brooke McAlary’s love of words and especially those words that don’t have an English equivalent, like the new to me words I learned from her book Care.
komorebi - a Japanese word meaning ‘sunlight filtering through trees’
goya - an Urdu word for ‘the suspension of disbelief that occurs while listening to good storytelling’
hiraeth - a Welsh word for ‘the homesickness you feel when you can’t return to your home or for a home that never was’
fiu - a Tahitian word that encompasses the word burnout and is used for letting others know why you need a break from work or other events
Here’s a link to 17 more words without an English equivalent that I found intriguing! Do you have any favorites you’d like to share in the comments below?
WEEKEND READING
Every year we travel to a location that is close to many Native American reservations here in the southern United States. Each time I visit, I am humbled by the strength of tribes who have suffered great losses in their tribal communities as well as access to their land. Despite these heartbreaking and devastating losses, these communities have found ways to work together to advocate for their rights and ways of life. As a Little Free Library steward myself, I know the power of getting books into the hands of readers. I hope that you will join me in supporting the Little Free Library Indigenous Library Program.
The slow days of summer are a perfect time to dive into a good book. I’m beginning my summer reading with Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng, 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons, and Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang.
What are you reading this season? Share in the comments below.
What’s my simple joy this week? Gardening brings me joy, so why not bring a little of that feeling on vacation? With the Airbnb host’s permission, we stopped by the farmers’ market and local nursery, where we are vacationing, to pick out plants to fill up the empty garden beds and pots. By planting a vacation garden, we benefit from being able to pick fresh mint for our tea and herbs for our cooking and soak in the beauty of flowers on the porch every morning. Hopefully, the next guests who stay here and the local wildlife will enjoy the garden as well. Never one to have too much time in a garden, I’m also looking forward to attending the literary garden dedication at the local library and the town garden tour.
Thank you to my mom for the link to this article from The New York Times that reminded me that gardening is really just a form of meditation.
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I read once that if there is something that you want to do, but you're not sure how to get there, just begin. Writing blog posts for 52 Seasons is a creative journey into the expressions that come from my heart: writing, photography, tending a garden, immersing myself in nature, reading stories from voices that need to be heard and sharing them with others, keeping a home, being an advocate and supporter of education, nature, basic human rights, and sharing resources with others.
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