A goodbye to summer

Hello friends. It has been quite the hiatus, but I am back and looking forward to writing and posting more consistently. 

As I am writing this, summer is coming to a close. The autumnal equinox is tomorrow and looks to be bringing with it rain and cooler temperatures. There is something symbolical about rainstorms on the first day of a season, washing away the old and welcoming the new. 

I usually can’t wait for autumn, but there was something about this year that had me clinging to the late summer days. I found myself craving heat and sunshine and lamenting the shorter days. As often I as could this September, I rose at sunrise and walked outside to greet it. I did the same at sunset, bookending the day with light—a practice I wholeheartedly recommend.

I think some of my reluctance to leave the summer behind is that I haven’t been able to do as many of things that I would have liked to do. For the last couple of years, I have been dealing with some personal health problems. These problems have lingered long past their welcome, causing stress and strain in all aspects of my life—and, quite frankly, I’m over it. As someone who lives with a chronic autoimmune disease, I am no stranger to the inconvenience of illness. This most recent bout has not been the most severe I have experienced, but it has been the longest. I have had to let things go to rest and heal. I have had to come to terms with the necessity of letting these things go. I had to constantly remind myself that it was okay to let these things go. These past few months, I have finally been on the upswing. I’m not completely recovered, but I’m a lot better than I was a year ago. 

With this seasonal shift, I finally feel like I am ready to get back to myself and the things I love. To refocus on my priorities and nurture creativity. I am letting go of the restrictive mindsets I have been living in and welcoming inspiration back with open arms. I still plan to give myself time to recover, but I also plan to write and dance, to bring my camera with me and capture beautiful moments, to paint and draw, to make my art and put it out into the world. Because those are the things that make me happy, and I am ready to have that joy back in my life.

Until next time, 

xxVivien