Summer Solstice
Reflection
Today is the beginning of summer. In our hemisphere, earth is becoming its ripest and
most lush. It is a time of deeper connection with the four basic elements: fire, water, air
and earth. The fire of the sun reaches across 93 million miles to touch our skin, warm
the soil, bless the growth of plants and ripen their fruit. Water joins with sunlight and
earth to foster the growth of vegetation, the greenness of trees and the beauty of
flowers. It cools us through waves and lakes and ponds. We feel the
air in the powerful winds of thunderstorms which join with water to moisten and refresh
earth, or as it cools our skin with the caress of a gentle breeze. It’s summer! The
elements are loose- sometimes to awe us with their beauty, other times to frighten us
with their violence and power. Earth is busy turning the promise of springtime into the
fullness of autumn. Our lives are moving with its rhythms. Let us appreciate the wonder
of this Earth.
Prayer
The whole earth is filled with the glory of God.
Isaiah 6:3
Action
Notice. Be aware. Take time to enjoy!
Suggested Reading
The heavens declare the glory of God,
And the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.
Day pours out the word today,
And night to night imparts knowledge…
God has pitched a tent for the sun,
Which comes forth like the groom from his bridal chamber,
And like a giant, joyfully runs the course.
At one end of the heavens it comes forth,
And its course is to the other end.
Nothing escapes its heat.
Psalm 19
Then followed that beautiful season… Summer….
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the
promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young
beauty will ever fade.
Gertrude Jekyll
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day,
listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by
no means a waste of time.
John Lubbock
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.
Russel Baker
I am Summer, come to lure you away from your computer… come dance on my fresh
grass, dig your toes into my beaches.
Oriana Green
Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
William Shakespeare
I stood transfixed, the silence ringing in my ears. From the field of wild grasses;
cocksfoot, tufted hair, wild oat, tall fescue, reed canary and perennial rye, their subtle
shades of green, ochre and pink softly patching and blending in rustling movement,
suddenly rose a small flock of starlings that had been feeding quietly unseen among the
tall waving stems, the swish of their glossy wings startlingly loud in the stillness of
midday. Heat held me captive.
Nell Grey
I love how summer just wraps its arms around you like a warm blanket.
Kellie Elsmore