I often say I have reverse seasonal affective disorder as Summer is my least favorite season. A simple explanation is that I live in Atlanta and I have autoimmune issues and the heat makes me feel bad. When October hits, I feel like a new person! I feel like the world has come to life again, even though, technically, the world is kind of dying.
But I actually think that is part of my struggle. We know that Autumn and Winter are sort of melancholy. And we embrace it. We huddle around fires and comfort ourselves in the cold and dark. We hang Christmas lights and we feast and we sing. Winter beckons us home, to each other, to closeness and coziness and warmth and love.
Summer calls us out. Out on vacations, oceans, vast beaches, public pools, parks. Summer is not cozy. Which makes sense, given it’s usually considered the most fun and active season. But what happens when it does get kind of miserable outside? What about when the day drags, when the humidity sits heavy and sticky in a haze, when all the friends have gone their separate ways? What happens when summer becomes still? What happens when all that life feels rather lifeless? Summer can be a little depressing. Unless you learn to embrace the stillness.
This summer I’m trying to embrace the stillness. I’m trying to hold the melancholy in my heart and learn about it. I’m trying to sit with summer like I sit with winter, and letting it lead me to its own sort of coziness and peace. This is a short playlist I recorded to help me as I do that. I hope it helps you too!
(descriptions of songs are on the Soundcloud page)
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