I’ve just had to pull stumps on a weekly activity.

As part of my ongoing embodiment coaching supervision, I’m part of Mark Walsh’s ‘Embodiment Apprenticeship’ mentoring programme. We are learning lots across the dual aspects of our practices: the embodiment coaching practise; and our coaching practice as a business. We are also encouraged to contribute to the group. My contribution is to facilitate coworking space on Tuesday evenings, so that we have space to implement what we’re learning. I love it. But it does take energy. Plus it’s an additional weekly commitment.

Yesterday evening I realised that I needed to 'summer' it for a few weeks.

With the long summer evenings, and as the long school holidays loom, a key part of the British cyclic year, you might be noticing this calling too. This is natural. We’re not machines and like all things in nature (even rocks), we ebb and flow.

There’s even a song about it (‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ by the Byrds):

To everything turn, turn, turn

There is a season turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under heaven

What does this mean in relation to us, and our work? Every project and activity has a beginning, middle, and end. And then a pause.

The pause is necessary for reflection and integration.

We do this all the time, without thinking about it. Every living moment of our lives we are breathing, in and out. Would it surprise you if I told you breathing is a four-phase activity? There is a pause after each in and out breath. Winter is generally the pause after the autumnal out breath, spring is the in breath, and summer is the pause when the lungs are full. Bringing attention to the breath is often an anchor for the mind in meditation. Making each of these four phases equal (for a count of 4 or 5) is a classic meditation exercise, with different experiential responses with each of the phases, thanks to the differing levels familiarity, ease and comfort for each part of the cycle.

The same applies to any seasonal activity, including the seasons – we all have our favourites and aspects of each we welcome or find challenging. I saw a question in a Facebook group this week, someone raised in a hot country asking for tips about how to deal with the rain, specifically questions about the use of wellies. July 2024 has mainly been spectacularly wet.

Summering then is a bit like ‘wintering’, but more active. You might have felt the hedgehoggy, internal, indoorsy snuggle of January, which is about resting and replenishing in order to have greater levels of energy as the days lengthen.

In summer, as well as resting, it is about taking time to enjoy ourselves and the abundance around us, before the busy days of harvest and autumn kick in. Even though we don’t have to harvest, preserve and store our food nowadays, we do still have a sense of work urgency ahead of the midwinter break in normal working habits. Winter is still something we need to prepare for in order to get through it; a key part of working well is to understand when we need to pause for some R&R [rest and recreation].

And here we find the kernel of it.

Recreation is re-creation.

Enjoy your summer!