Summer is Overrated

Join me to commiserate about how summer is overstimulating, unpredictable, and a bit much for our sensitive nervous systems

​I’m spinning a bit with the transition to summer. We had record cold for May 31^st in Pittsburgh, but we’ll jump back into the 80s by June 3^rd, a meteorological roller coaster that I’m highly sensitive to and deeply despise.

This week is also the start of my son’s summer vacation, which brings scheduling changes, new routines, and a fair amount of ambiguity about how to navigate working from home and parenting, even though my young teen no longer needs constant supervision.

It's hard to get my footing at times of transition like this.

Or at the very least, it takes time. Patience. A willingness to walk through uncertainty and allow something new to emerge. None of which falls in the category of things I feel naturally drawn to doing.

Summer has always been my least favorite season. I think as a sensitive kid, I felt much of the same disorientation as I feel now. But I didn’t know what it was that I felt, let alone what to do about it. As an adult, summer feels demanding and full of pressures to create memories and make the most of the season, whatever that means.

Plus, I loathe heat and humidity. Sweating is near the top of my list of unpleasant sensory experiences. I’ll take shivering in the snow or dodging rain drops over being hot any day.

This is more my speed!

Summer is a Bit Much for Me

There’s also something about the energy of summer growth that sometimes feels like too much for me. If my life happens to align so that I’m doing something personally or professionally that is solidly blooming, summer’s energy feels congruent.

But it seems like during a lot of years, including this one, I’m out of sync with the season of growth. When I’m in a dormant phase in my life, the energy of summer feels grating, stirring up doubts and comparisons that are hard to shake.

Summer is such a mixed bag.

Let’s Commiserate Together

If, like me, you’re feeling ambivalent about summer and a little (or a lot) overwhelmed by the seasonal transition, I’d love for you to join me for my next Soundings Circle on Wednesday, June 4th. These free gatherings allow me and an intimate group of people to connect around a theme, like summer, and explore how our sensitivity influences our experience.

We'll reflect on the literal season, as well as the metaphors it offers about growth, energy, dynamic progress, breaks and vacations. And we'll reflect on how it is when our own lives don't align with the seasonal themes.

I love the monthly rhythm of connecting in the Soundings Circles. That feels like a beautiful relief from the intensity of this summer season. I hope you’ll join me!