Living in the Season: Summer
~by Susan Weiser Mason and George Mason
Here in Damariscotta Mills the Summer is full on. Flowers are blooming profusely and veggies are exploding out of what once were neat rows. Life is abundant, and a bit over the top! Before Covid, this was the season when I used to walk to the swimming hole to get refreshed and to hang out with neighbors and new found friends. What I always found there was an ease and informality that was satisfying and fun. The free flowing and relaxed communal atmosphere of the swimming hole is, in fact, a great example of what the energy of Summer is all about.Using the lessons and practice of Five Element Acupuncture, I follow what is a seamless flow of change throughout the year. By drawing attention to how every season has an energetic texture that presents opportunities and tasks, we may be reminded how we can live in harmony with this, our very own Summer, unfolding right here, right now.Summer is the time of maximum expansion and fullness. We see it in the garden, and we feel it under the luxuriant shade of trees. There is energy and there is appetite. The days are long, and we have capacity, and we want to embrace it all.Energetically, Summer has us opening doors and enjoying what makes us happy. Summer joy is ephemeral and radiant. It excites us, and encourages laughter. We may even gather some of that magic and hold it close to sustain us through the depths of Winter. But as we play, visit, and throw ourselves into the bright pageant of the season, we often overextend, and there is exhaustion. This is not so much the problem of Summer, as it is the issue of our compulsively living the whole year as though it were Summer. If we run just as hard in February with no allowance for Winter’s requirement to rest and rejuvenate, we may simply not have the reserves to successfully get through August. Summer madness relies on the rest of the year for preparation. There needs to be a season to replenish the reservoir. Going non-stop all year long is not realistic, if health is a consideration.Under pre-pandemic conditions, there were those who found the wonderful prospect of hanging out with friends and family overtaken by the reality of hosting too many guests, and being worn out by facilitating summer experiences for others, rather than having adventures themselves. Normally, this season is one of increased social interaction, and while this is natural, it can be relentless. Finding balance in a time of excess is essential.In this regard, Nature is the perfect companion and antidote for the delights and challenges of Summer, especially with the constraints of social distancing. To be out in it; to be awed by the proliferation of life, the fullness of green, the ocean’s expanse, is to be held by it’s quiet authority. The natural world embodies and perfectly moderates the lessons of Summer in ways that we can integrate.This season confronts us with how our ‘wanting’ is almost unquenchable. The deep and inclusive refrain of Summer is, ‘Live and let live’. It’s not sentimental, and it’s not always safe. Some may even feel a bit too exposed. There can be a quiet voice wishing for a little less wildness, please; a little more containment! For those folks, its like staying too long at the fair, and they will not regret that Summer is brief.In closing, eat fresh while you can! The water beckons. The trails invite, but so does a book, or a nap. Enjoy!
Dear sister to Rukmini Walker, Susan Weiser Mason is a Traditional Acupuncturist located in Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro. She has been in practice since 1986. For more information, go to susanacupuncture.com or call 563-1571.) Her husband George Mason is an artist and acupuncturist. www.georgemasonart.com.