This Summer Solstice, let's embrace delight!

Happy Summer Solstice!

​Sing praises to the lifegiver, the Sun! I am but a speck on the surface of this vast planet and still, 15min of direct midday sun can still burn my skin. Such power! Let it help us get off fossil fuels!

This is our longest day of sunlight of the year. And this solstice, I’m reflecting on delight and the healing power of pleasure.

I come alive in the sunshine. Where winter is my new moon of the year, my season of rest, inward reflection and dreaming, summer is the full moon of the year, my season to connect with others and join sweaty queer dance parties and summer community festivals (longing, longing for those spaces once again). 
And in the growing cycle of the year, winter is the fertile fallow season, spring is for seeding and beginning, summer is the time for blossoming and fruiting, and autumn is a celebration of the harvest.
So I invite you to join me in reflecting on what is fruiting in your life. What is juicy, sweet and pleasurable in your life? When do you experience joy, ease and delight? Amid the challenge, grief and uncertainty of pandemic life, pleasure heals; moments of joy help us keep going. Like my kitten, Moon, who is an insistent cuddler and thus my constant teacher in returning to the moment, and cuddling before any other activity! 
Your summer solstice celebrations and ritual practice can be finding a way to enjoy, to indulge. Set an intention, say a prayer, that your time of delight, creation or connection may be an offering, a ritual act of thanks; adding joy to the collective energy. It could be a living room dance party, time to connect with human or animal companion loved ones, eating strawberries, going for a swim, sex and intimacy, time for art or creating, a slow forest walk, a hammock nap.

May your play and joy restore and soothe you. And may we all feel the subtle ripple of that inner smile. Blessings to you and yours.