Summer Breeze Makes Me Feel Fine

by Danielle White

That which many of us longed for during the dark cold winter has finally arrived; summer sunshine and the warmth that comes with it. What’s more, Nature seems to have brought us a summer-of-old; complete with tempestuous storms, sun showers, long sun-drenched days, balmy star-sprinkled nights and cooling summer breezes; it’s such lovely weather.

Perhaps a little less lovely at this time of year is the insistent and intrusive whirring of consumerism and all its endless ‘hot summer sales’, ‘summer bargains’ and ‘summer specials’ that rush us all too speedily towards Christmas and the New Year. However, if we can avoid being swept up in the dollar-driven delirium; summer can also be peaceful, relaxing and restorative.

The warmer weather is a great time for picnic-ing with family and friends; swimming in a dam, the river, or the ocean; lying on cooling grass under the shade of a tree to read a book or watch the clouds float across the sky; nodding off to sleep to the rhythmical hum of a cooling fan; rising early to walk the dog and draw in deep breaths of fresh ‘electrified’ air that lingers after a passing storm; tending to the flower garden and veggie patch; licking the juice of delectable summer fruits off sticky fingers; or travelling to places near and far to discover something new.

Whenever I travel I keep in mind the philosophical words of English writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton who wrote that whilst “the traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” Often, in rushing to see the latest ‘must see’ or the ‘must do’ we miss out on the wonderfully unexpected and unforeseen things along the way; a magnificent sunrise, the lovely smile of the person who serves you, an echidna that happens to totter across a paddock, the laughter of children in the playground, an unusual formation of clouds, the rustle of wind through native grasses, a tiny collection of wildflowers happily doing their thing by a busy roadside or a rock that looks like a sheep.

Summer is a great time to be a traveller rather than a tourist. Instead of getting caught up in the cult of speed heed the simple advice of Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh and “smile, breathe and go slowly” this festive season so that you have more time to be present and truly celebrate and appreciate people, food, and places without rushing past. You never know what you might see, what you might experience or who you might meet.

Until autumn leaves start falling,

Dr Danielle White

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