It’s the halfway point of the year.
Tomorrow is the summer solstice - the longest day of the year. Saturday is Midsummer’s Day. Many people think the two days are the same thing, but the solstice is an astrological event, where the axis of the Earth is tilted in such a way that one of the poles, in this case the North Pole, is closest to the sun and the sun appears to be highest in the sky, whereas Midsummer is a fixed date on the calendar. Originally, only two seasons were recognised - summer and winter - and Midsummer was the halfway point of summer. Now that spring is seen as a separate season, Midsummer marks the start of summer. I don’t know what you mean, it’s not confusing at all.
It’s a special point in the year - the high point in energy, abundance and strength. It’s seen as an opportunity for healing and nourishment. But it’s impossible to mark the longest day of the year without noting that, from here on out, the days will be getting shorter.
Life in circles
Why write so much about nature and the seasons in a blog about happiness? Because being in touch with the natural world and its rhythm has a profound effect on our sense of happiness and emotional wellbeing. A study by the University of Essex found that people who moved from cities to rural areas saw a big decrease in depression, whereas people who moved from rural areas into cities experienced a big increase in depression. Multiple studies have shown that spending time in nature is good for mental health, physical health and concentration, and zoologists have observed animals in captivity who are deprived of their natural habitat displaying symptoms of despair. We’re not so different - cities are not our natural habitat.
In his book Lost Connections, Johann Hari shares an additional benefit to nature from evolutionary biologist Isabel Behncke:
“When you are depressed … you feel that ‘now everything is about you’. You become trapped in your own story and your own thoughts, and they rattle around in your head with a dull, bitter insistence. Becoming depressed or anxious is a process of becoming a prisoner of your own ego … Faced with a natural landscape, you have a sense that you and your concerns are very small, and the world is very big … And this helps you see the deeper and wider ways in which you are connected to everything around you.”
Being in close contact with nature helps you to feel part of something bigger than yourself. And understanding the cycles of nature also helps you to understand that everything is cyclical. That highs and lows are inevitable, but that nothing lasts forever. That there will be a time to start afresh. A linear concept of time can make us feel that all of our challenges stack up on top of one another and that we’re heading further into trouble, or make us worry that we’re not heading in the right direction. A cyclical view helps us to realise that we’re not really moving anywhere, but that experiences and events will come and go while we rise and fall to our natural rhythm. There’s comfort in that.
Solstice rituals
So with that in mind, the high point in the our journey around the sun is a moment to be celebrated.
I’m lucky to be spending the solstice with an amazing group of women, and I’m looking forward to forest bathing, a barefoot walk, meditation and a women’s circle to give thanks to nature, share support and nourishment with my sisters, and reflect on the year so far.
But there are also a few personal rituals for me at the summer solstice:
Celebrate what I have achieved in the first half of the year
We’re often so focused on what we want to do, and how far short we’ve falled on our goals from the start of the year, that we forget to acknowledge just how much we have done. With the sun shining brightly on us for longer, it’s a good time to take note of the things you’re proud of. I’ll be making a list of my achievements this year, and paying attention to how much longer it is than I thought it would be (I usually get my husband to help me, because he’ll usually point out a load of things that I’ve forgotten or dismissed!).
Reflect on where I want to be
I will still take a look at the goals I set myself on New Year’s Eve and see where I’ve got to with these. Not with the intention of beating myself up about it, but more to look at whether these goals are still what I want (and if so, to reaffirm my intention and set out the actions I can take now to work towards them, or, if not, to release them), and to assess what’s been standing in my way and how I can deal with that.
Show gratitude
Practicing gratitude has been shown to be highly beneficial for mental health, and so regularly writing short gratitude lists is a good habit to get into. At the solstice, that time of warming light and nourishment, it’s a great time to write a big list and to actually show your gratitude. Saying thank you to people who’ve helped you this year, leaving offerings for nature, making gifts (particularly of the nourishing kind - food or self-care items are good solstice gifts).
Midsummer rituals
On Midsummer’s Day, I’m getting the family together to celebrate. My husband and kids are used to me by now, but the in-laws are coming to visit and I’m not sure they’re going to know what’s hit them. I don’t know if they even know it’s Midsummer’s Day or what that is. Well, they’re about to find out.
This is what we’ll be doing to celebrate:
A walk in the forest to connect to nature, and we’ll collect some wildflowers while we’re there
When we get home, we’ll use the flowers to make flower crowns and sun catchers, which will keep the kids busy for at least five minutes
A picnic on the beach to share food and make the most of the sun - I’m incredibly lucky to live right next to the beach, and this is my happy place, so it feels like the ideal place to spend Midsummer
A Midsummer’s Day swim in the sea, partly to immerse myself in nature and partly because any excuse to get in the sea!
Setting intentions for the rest of the year - now that we’re moving from spring (time of planting and nurturing) into summer (time of growth and abundance), it’s a good opportunity to reaffirm, or amend, your goals and to bring things forward. We’re moving from the “I will…” of spring into the “I am…” of summer, before the harvesting and “I have…” of autumn. This is the time to embody your vision for your future and take bold action.
Make the most of the light now, as it begins to fade to the autumn equinox. As the saying goes, make hay while the sun shines.
Creative spark
As always, I’d like you to explore your sense of joy and sense of self through a creative activity, whatever that might be for you. Maybe, to celebrate the wild abundance of Midsummer, you could try a brand new creative activity that you’ve never tried before, or haven’t tried in a long time.
As your prompt, I invite you to complete the following sentence: “I am…”