Oh, how I love summer.

Last week I posted a reel about the fact that we only have 10 weeks (now 9!) of summer left. Nine glorious weeks of sunshine, warmth, and slower days.

Will you truly embrace it?

This summer has already brought some new experiences to my life. My daughter Nova graduated from Senior Kindergarten and received a glowing report card. Her school planned a lovely ceremony that included the graduates singing "Blackbird" by the Beatles. You can hear her solo rendition here. There was not a dry eye in the house (mine especially, and I forgot to bring tissues!).

The old me, the one who was often in survival mode even when I no longer needed to be, would have felt the tug on my heart, but then would have given her a hug and a smile and moved on.

But the "now" me is learning to savour these moments, and appreciate them as the epic life milestones that they are.

So the evening we received her report card we spontaneously went out for oysters and rose (for me) and ice cream (for her). And the next day we both got dressed up and I celebrated her next step in her childhood with my whole heart. I let the tears flow.

I truly savoured the moment.

Savour.

To savour means to intentionally focus your attention on the positive aspects of an experience. That's my word for this summer. I intend to wake up every day and savour all the beauty a new summer day brings.

Last week in my group program, Be All You Are, I handed out a different kind of homework assignment. I asked this group of ambitious, action-oriented women to slow down and savour their summer.

I asked them to savour their summer so that they could lean into feeling good. Not good-enough, but the kind of good you feel when all your senses are satisfied. You taste the ice cream, feel the breeze on your bare shoulders, smell the warm summer air, touch the cool grass and hear the sounds of freedom that only summer brings.

When we fill up on all the beauty and richness life has to offer, it creates a feeling of abundance that flows through us. We aren't just thinking abundance, we're feeling it. And when we feel abundant, we see more abundance around us, and we are able to receive abundance too.

To get you into that place of feeling the abundance of summer, I want you to commit to savouring the remaining nine weeks.

Start by answering these two questions in your journal:
1. What do I love most about summer?
2. How will I savour it?

Now that you have your list, add all these activities, big and small, to your calendar. But don't commit only to activities that take a lot of planning or time. Every day, find small ways to savour the season. I will savour every day by getting outside early in the day (there are health benefits to this too!), eating lots of fresh, local produce and taking a stroll with Nova after dinner.

Within my group I also shared some affirmations I created and curated to keep my women in the "savouring mindset". I've included a few of them for you below. Pick one that resonates with you and post it on your bathroom mirror or save it as a reminder in your phone.

• I am so grateful to breathe in this season

• I attract new adventures every time I feel good

• I let fresh air and sunlight into my soul

• I choose to surround myself with people who feel like sunlight.
  

"Everything good, everything magical,
happens between the months of June and August."
- Jenny Han

How will you savour summer? Hit reply and let me know!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead,


With love,

Kena xo

Kena Paranjape, Founder, All You Are