Summer Thoughts

     Well, our blog hiatus is over. My June was lovely and I hope it was great for you, too. Since we are in the midst of summer, I thought that's what I'd talk about today.

     It's easy to relax and do absolutely nothing when school is out. Sometimes we do need a little bit of "nothing" time. However, I'd rather have a summer full of well-used time to look back on than a summer of Netflix on the couch.

     This is one of my favorite quotes:
"In the midst of winter, I found there was within me an Invincible Summer." ~Albert Camus
If we're going to have Invincible Summer through the year, what better time of year than summer to discover it! I've been feeling like summer hasn't even started yet, but also like it's almost over. (My brain is such a paradox.) So this week, I made a list of things I associated with summer. It included things like pineapples, sunglasses, fireworks, reading, and swimming. I'm planning on trying to include as much of the list as possible in my summer and appreciate the little joys I have while they're here.

     Speaking of joy, at the OYAN Summer Workshop this year, they had quests for everyone to complete. There were three different themes, and the one I chose was 'wonder'. It helped me to sit and contemplate the small beauties God gives us even when everything around seems crazy and busy. When I got home, I realized I didn't want the quest to end, so I made my own. I picked a different focus for each day of the week (I'm indecisive like that) and though I'm not giving myself specific tasks to complete, I will be writing down what I did that counted for the quest. The list of summer things I made was part of the joy aspect.

     I'm challenging you guys to also make quests for yourselves. They don't have to be seven different themes, you can go with one or five or twelve or whatever you like. It can be for one day of the week, all the days of the week, just weekends, anything. It can just be for the summer or continue indefinitely. You can print out specific tasks for yourself and put them in a jar and choose randomly, or you can do what I'm doing and kind of keep the quest at the back of your mind, looking for a way to carry it out. Have fun!

     The comment for this week is three parts:
1. If you were at the SW this year, which quest did you choose?
2. What do you think of when you think about summer?
3. What does your quest look like?

Be foten,
 ~Alexandra