Late Summer, Life Lessons, and Loving Yourself
Though Autumn is near, the glee of late Summer is still with us. The leaves of trees are painted with a hint of gold, and now is the time to nourish your body, mind, and soul.
“September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours, but in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn.” ― Rowland E. Robinson
I love this time of year. The air feels like a big hug. We've made it past the beaming, stifling summer heat in Tennessee, and now we relax into days that remind me of my early childhood.
While I hated summer vacation was over and it was time to go back to school, I did love the weekend drives with the windows down as the Funk and R&B Band “Earth, Wind, and Fire” sang Dancing in September.
The lyrics blended with the sound of late summer wind blowing through the windows of my parents' Delta 88. My little brother and I would sing with Mom as we headed to the local park.
Our hearts were ringin’ In the key that our souls were singin’ As we danced in the night, remember How the stars stole the night away, oh, yeah
And my brother and I loved this part of the song:
Hey, hey, hey Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember? Ba-dee-ya, dancin’ in September Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
When we grow up and start adulting, we forget about those simple things we did as children — things that brought us joy and peace. That doesn't have to end, Fam. We can still sing along with Earth, Wind, and Fire while nourishing our mind, body, and soul.
September and the last days of Summer are a time for self-love and self-care.
“It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self-love deficit.” — Eartha Kitt
Nourishing the mind, body, and soul begins with self-love and self-care. September is a great time to update your self-care practice. Self-care is self-love. And practicing self-care increases your perception of your self-worth.
As some of you know from my past stories, I practice radical self-care. One of the most critical tenets of radical self-care asserts:
"You must affirm your self-worth above all others." Society teaches us that putting ourselves first is selfish. However, I have nothing to give if my chalice is empty.
When we continue to put ourselves last on the list, we live in a "self-love deficit," as Ms. Kitt stated. Accordingly, we try to compensate for lack through disempowering relationships, buying the next "latest" and "greatest" thing, searching for gurus, and chasing money.
Nothing can fill up a self-love deficit but self-love. Self-care is where we begin the process.
Earth.
Our bodies need rest, care, and nourishment. To leave our bodies out of the equation is a recipe for disaster. Filling our bellies with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, deep cleansing breaths, and good clean water helps our bodies function optimally. Most importantly, it helps the body heal.
Wind.
We nurture our minds with words of power that affirm us. Our minds are fertile ground. The seeds you plant as words of power will grow in the fertile soil of your mind as creativity, love, abundance, peace, and joy. And remember to speak kindly to yourself.
Fire.
Our soul and psyche need stillness, mindfulness, and meditation. Nourishing the soul is like adding minerals to the soil. The more fertile the soil, the more the soil yields during seasons of harvest. Those affirmations and words of power will multiply abundantly when our soul is fertile with wisdom.
Wisdom transforms how we live and see our world.
Plant, nourish, and take care in late Summer and September because October is harvest time!
September and the last days of Summer are a time for self-reflection.
“It is always our own self that we find at the end of the journey. The sooner we face that self, the better.” — Ella Maillart
Self-reflection is another tenet of radical self-care. Self-reflection is essential for personal growth. When we reflect, we increase and improve our intrapersonal intelligence (knowledge of self).
To this effect, a study investigated eight and nine-year-old children's capabilities to develop skills in intrapersonal intelligence. During the investigation, a group of twenty-seven children ages seven to nine was presented to a program specifically designed to facilitate their self-knowledge as learners and their self-management skills in the English learning domain.
The program included developing skills in:
- goal setting and identification of personal learning strategies,
- improving work habits,
- improving on-task behaviors, and
- encouraging self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reflection.
The results obtained evidenced,
a considerable improvement in the students’ self- knowledge and how this impacted on their perceptions of themselves as learners. The students grew increasingly aware of their own relative strengths and used this information to negotiate their learning environment, to identify strategies that worked for them and to take increasingly more responsibility for their own learning.
Therefore, even as adults, we learn more about ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, and how to negotiate for what we want in our lives through self-reflection, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation.
September and the last days of Summer are a time for self-evaluation.
Be passionate and move forward with gusto every single hour of every single day until you reach your goal. — Ava DuVernay
As one can surmise, through the study above, September and late Summer can be an excellent time for self-evaluation. Your self-evaluation helps you determine,
- How are you functioning in the world? Do you believe you are in control of your life or are forces outside of yourself dictating your ability to experience fulfillment and reach your goals?
- How are you coping with disappointment and setbacks? What is your self-talk?
- How do you feel about your accomplishments and goals?
Journaling can not only help you reflect daily, but it can also help you document answers to these questions as you keep a record of your milestones towards your goals.
Yes, these are the last days of Summer so let's take a good look at where we are and where we're going for the remainder of the year. And don't forget to explore nature and soak up a little more sun as we dance in September from Summer to Autumn.
Fam, I'm curious. What are your plans for the last days of Summer?
Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
💞 Let’s keep in touch. 👇
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And please learn more about finding peace in acceptance from Dr. Preeti Singh
And Patrick OConnell breaks down how he manifests what he wants every day in his piece:
