Radiating Vitality: Seasonal Living In Summer

May 4

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Summer emerges as a season of vigour and excess, infusing vitality and energy into every fibre of our existence. It is the period when the sunshine calls all the flowers to fully bloom, painting the season in varied hues. The tree's branches are filled with fruit at its peak of ripeness, tempting the little ones to climb up and savor its taste.

The start of summer marks the summer solstice. This means the sun rises early and sets late, leaving the majority of the day to go out and explore the season’s abundance. Thanks to the maximum solar power we receive in summer, it seems we hardly lose any energy and feel keen to engage in vigorous physical activities, while the sun's exposure nourishes and vitalises our internal processes.

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Summer Mindset

It feels as if the summer energy encourages me to be more open and communicative. It expands my extroverted side, filling me with joy and enthusiasm. It seems I hardly ever feel tired or overwhelmed by chores, tasks, and obligations. All the plans I made in winter and started implementing in spring now require my effort and persistence. And probably thanks to summer’s energy, it seems I rarely lack the determination to continue striving towards my goals.

I take full advantage of the summer momentum, but do not get fooled by it. I celebrate my progress, but I never become lazy. I try to motivate myself daily, find reasons to keep pursuing, and sacrifice small pleasures to achieve greater, lasting victories. It's the ideal stage to express ourselves with maximum coherence, manifesting and aligning what we desire with what we express.

In summer, I take the time to thank the sun for its life force and illumination, and the earth for its love, fertility, sustenance, and abundance. They create the perfect synergy that caters to me with everything I need to grow, live, and evolve. I express my gratitude to nature by celebrating light and cultivating awareness, joy, and empathy.

Summertime Daily Rhythms

When summer comes, you can simply let its vigour be your guiding light. You can embrace your openness, awaken your fearlessness, and quicken the pace of your day so it can match the summer drive.

Morning: On summer mornings, you can try to wake up an hour before everyone else. Turn on some music, do some light stretching, and take your coffee in the garden while walking barefoot on the grass.
Midday: You can try to spend as much time outside as you can. Nature walks, garden play with the children, riverside refreshment, lunchtime breaks in the park – use any excuse to connect with the summer sunlight.
Evening: When the weather is too hot during the day, you can take evening walks in the park. And when that is not an option. Serve dinner in the garden. Play games, tell stories, or stargaze before heading to bed.

Summer Kid-Friendly Activities

No matter the heat the season sometimes brings, summer is always fun. The season of light provides plenty of possibilities for outdoor play, tempting children to turn off the TV and take the fun outside. These are some of my favourite summer activities that I do with my kids:
Water balloon fight: It’s not only fun; it’s refreshing as well! Just make sure to buy the reusable, eco-friendly alternative to reduce plastic waste.
Pool time: We inflate a children’s pool in the backyard and let them play with water.
Riverside picnics: This is definitely the family’s favourite weekend relaxation that we all enjoy. We bring our outdoor gear, pack food and drinks, and have all nature around us as the playground. On really hot summer days, we even dip in the river waters to cool off.
Camping: Spending the night in a natural environment brings kids closer to nature. Almost every camping adventure raises questions about the wilderness that teaches our kids to respect and love their land.
Sand fun: The beach is not only for swimming. Your kids can spend hours playing with the sand, building castles, digging holes, making sand ice cream, and creating different shapes. You can even build a sandpit in your backyard and let the kids play with sand at home.

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Summer Seasonal Cooking

With the intensity of the light and heat of summer, our bodies crave something refreshing and savoury. Enjoying the juiciness of summer foods like watermelon, peaches, and tomatoes has a lot to do with seasonal living.

For me, seasonal summer cooking means taking meal preparation and consumption outside, as well as exploring ways to create my own refreshments. This is how you can try to let the summer steep in your kitchen.

Homemade iced tea: Nothing quenches my thirst like a good old homemade iced tea. The preparation process starts by visiting a local herbal market where you can purchase different kinds of mixtures and various flavours. Brew the infusion, let it cool, and then add honey and pieces of fruit.
Outdoor cooking: I sometimes feel meals prepared out in the open taste better. On summer weekends, we take the kitchen outside and prepare lunch together in the garden. My partner does the grilling, I do the salads, while my munchkins prepare the table.
Making healthy ice cream alternatives: I try to find ways of satisfying my children’s sweet tooth for ice cream in summer, so we create our own healthy swaps. We blend different fruits, put the mixture in our pop moulds, and let them freeze.
Preserving food: If summer is the season of abundance, I have explored methods to preserve the food it provides. Now, when the fruits and vegetables are at their ripest and tastiest, it's the best time for canning tomatoes, freezing berries, making jams, etc.

Summer Home Activities

Even though we spend most of the summer days outside, I try to let the season enter my home by mirroring its vibrant energy, adding colour and lightness, and keeping an airy atmosphere.

Hosting BBQs: On weekends, I like to invite guests for lunch hosted in our garden. We bring out the barbecue, make skewers, and prepare salads outside, while the kids run around the garden. Summer evenings are my favourite – I gather my girlfriends, serve tasty cocktails, and blab until midnight.
Painting: If our house needs indoor or outdoor painting, this is when that plan is put into action.
Cleaning: Summer is for furniture cleaning, like couches, armchairs, mattresses, and even stuffed toys, as they all need air drying.
Garden reconstruction: Whether that means giving some corner a new look, adding new pots, reorganising the summer kitchen, or taking out the summer toys (trampolines, slides, swings, sandpits, sports toys).

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Summer Crafts

When the weather is too hot to go outside, I engage in seasonal crafts as my way of living in balance with the summer.

Pressed flower art: During our nature walks, we collect flowers and press them on glass or transparent paper to create picture frames, lamps, or bookmarks.
Under the sea: We join together popsicle sticks as a frame, paint them in shades of blue, draw fish, and glue sand and seashells to portray the bottom of the sea. Another idea is to make a mason jar aquarium using the same materials.
Seasonal summer table: This season our table is covered with blue sheets, stones and seashells, with wooden boats looking like floating on water and a paper-made sun hanging above.

Summer Rest

No time for daytime naps, thanks to the abundance of energy the summer sun gives us. I try to give myself an eight-hour night's rest prepped by a self-loving bedtime routine – quick shower, light skincare ritual, closed curtains, and a linen throw.

Summer Vacationing

Summertime always calls for trips to the beach. Activities like swimming, sand play, snorkelling, and sailing are often included in our summer plans. But we never forget about our sanctuary – the forest. It is the best getaway ticket to cool off and take a breath of fresh summer air.