“Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.” George R.R. Martin
Today, as I looked at my calendar, I realized my time was limited. Now, don’t get me wrong! My time, like yours is always limited and my calendar is a constant reminder of that. But today it felt magnified as I realized how many more weeks we have in our summer break. Every year, without fail, I feel as if my summer has passed by too quickly and as I’ve gotten older they seem to pass with increasing speed. The truth is, our summer season, especially here in Ohio is not that long. And my perspective, as I’ve grown older has changed with, well perspective.
When I was a young girl summers still for me ended too quickly, but they somehow felt to drift on longer and at a slower pace. Now, as I reflect on my childhood summer memories, they always have a warm glow to them. They are simple and relaxed. They aren’t forced or rushed. Today my summers, although always packed with sunshine and fun, feel more frantic and more rushed. The word peaceful, when thinking of my summers as an adult, do not come to mind. Why is this? Today as I write I have two young, wonderful children. And although I love them more than anything on this planet, I am their compass at this present time. Although they have minds of their own, I have to think for them most of the time. Did you brush your teeth? Did you get your water bottle filled? Did you close the front door? Did you eat your vegetables? Did you do this… ? My oldest child is nine and although he is a bright child he doesn’t plan or think ahead. He lives in the moment. And that is when it hit me! The reason our summers as kids felt longer and less stressful was because we thought a whole lot less. We weren’t planning for tomorrow because someone else was already doing that for us. We were simply living; simply taking in the now.
When we think we cause ourself to pull away from the current moment. “Thinking takes us away from the present moment and into the past or future, which are the only times regret or anxiety exist. You do not have to “try” to be present or “think positively” to experience love, joy, bliss, or any other positive emotions because those emotions are our natural state when we are not thinking.” Joseph Nguyen.
Please do not misunderstand me, it is completely normal and good to plan ahead. And it’s vital to our financial and personal health to be responsible and practical in our every day living. But if we are not careful, all of our planning and preparing for the future can leave us in a state of never realizing the now. The moment we are currently living and breathing in will pass as we stress and overthink about tomorrow. The following saying comes to mind: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34. We’ve heard words like this before. We’ve heard people tell us to do this, but somewhere inside we worry that if we practice less thinking we may become less productive and more lazy. I am here to tell you this is simply not true! “The reality is that we are most productive when we are working in a state of non-thinking. We are more effective, have better ideas, experience less resistance and stress, and don’t procrastinate as much when we’re not thinking.” Joseph Nguyen.
One of the ways I like to help myself stop overthinking is journaling. If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you will see I’ve been journaling since a young age. Journaling, for me helps to center my mind and helps me focus more clearly. When I journal I gain insight into my thoughts, mood, and triggers. What I’ve learned is that writing out your thoughts frees up your mind. Taking your worries out of your mind and putting it somewhere else is so freeing. By doing this, you are taking real steps to remove unwanted or unneeded information and storing it somewhere else. If and when you want to retrieve that information, it will be waiting for you!
Here’s the good news! Today is here. Yesterday is over. Tomorrow will arrive before you know it. Stressing about what hasn’t happened yet is pointless and draining. Tomorrow can’t be changed because it hasn’t yet arrived. What matters is today!
On this day, my children and I celebrated our current summer season by purchasing fresh produce. One of the best things about the summer season is the overabundance of produce. As with any overabundance, the price of the goods goes down!
Four ripe peaches were purchased for only one dollar. Wanting to try something new, we decided to take our peaches and turn them into a satisfying salsa! Below is our recipe! We suggest you turn up music when you make this salsa. Dance a little as you chop up the produce. And take in this awesome moment you have. You are alive. Smell the food. Listen to the sounds around you. Look at the people beside you. This moment, although not perfect because no moment is perfect, is exactly where you need to be. It’s your opportunity to see the good, experience the joy of life, and feel the gratitude of living right now.
Peach Salsa
Ingredients:
- 2 cups ripe peaches (about two whole peaches), remove seed and dice up
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cups mini sweet peppers, diced (bell peppers work great too!)
- 1 tbs cilantro, finely diced
- 1 small lime, juiced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Optional: 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
- Additional ingredient ideas: 1 can of chickpeas (drained), or 1 can of corn (drained)
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the chopped and diced ingredients and mix together. Chill and serve cold. When ready to eat, scoop up salsa with either a corn tortilla chip or a cucumber slice and taste the goodness of summer! This salsa pairs great with seafood and white wine. Enjoy!
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