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| Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan Making a wish at Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy in 2011. |
It
is only June first—not even “officially” summertime—and the weather in some
parts of Southern California has already been hitting the century mark for the
past couple of couple of weeks. Some kids I have known since they were ten
years old graduated high school, last week; a few more have just graduated from
college. (I admit it, I feel old right now!) The Belmont Stakes will be run
next week; I still have six days to hope and fantasize that California Chrome crosses
the finish line to become the first Triple Crown winner in thirty-six years. Although
most of my favorite television programs are now on summer hiatus, at least
there is still Shark Week on the Discovery Channel to look forward to starting
the beginning of August.
Although
Summer isn’t my favorite time of year, I do appreciate it for the symbolic
respite that this season offers. As the weather heats up, time seems to slow
down to the pace of thick molasses. This is the season of slathering on sunscreen,
sipping iced-tea by the pool and reading a novel under the shade of a tree (or
beach umbrella). Now that the school year is over—or just about over—many people
will start their exodus out of town to enjoy a couple of well-deserved weeks of
rest and relaxation with their families. Some will hang out at the beach or in
the local mountains. Others may go to visit relatives or amusement parks in a
different city or state or even travel to a foreign country. This is when we
can dig into those projects around the house that we have been putting off doing
earlier in the year. Or… not.
It
is more traditional to reflect on what we have done during the year, at the end of the year. But consider this: there
is really no time to say something to or do something with someone during the last
few hours of the last night of the year. However, the beginning of summer is an
ideal time to take stock of our accomplishments and any goals we have not achieved
because we still have six more months in which to make any desired changes in
our lives. This is the time when we are more likely to be relaxed and to have
the time to at least lay down the foundations for making that desired change. Yes,
Summer time is an opportunity to recharge our emotional, physical and
psychological batteries so we can be in a more productive frame of mind to reinforce
those behaviors that will help us realize our goals. But this is also a great time
to start making those changes so we can feel good about having already said and
done a lot of the things we set out to do at the beginning of the year.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a
certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with
honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more
information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2014
