We are moving into summer and I just love it. The long light filled days, the progression of blooms, the warm weather and all the opportunities for outdoor activities. It is easy to overdo, though, as the call of nature is especially strong. And there are so many deeply disturbing things that we need to address, finding a way to be present and productive is essential.

As always, it comes down to finding balance. In Chinese medicine, key concepts are yin, yang and the balance between them. In life and health, this can show up as a balance between the inner and outer worlds, between integration and action, between activity and rest, between assimilation and movement.

As individuals, we have a set point regarding our inner and outer lives. Some people experience life as a deep, private, rich evolution of the soul. Others look to life to provide a photo album of activities and relationships that they have participated in which give life meaning and purpose. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle, we have a full outer life, that we call to us and manage, but we give ourselves time to integrate, to plan, and to appreciate. We look for outer rewards, but spend time aligning our focus on what we want, so that less effort is needed to manifest it. When we want to make a difference, we need to make sure our actions line up with our values, and that we set our intention clearly so that we move forward engaging all our resources and potential, both inner and outer.

Finding this middle ground means going with the flow as yin and yang transform into each other, and recognizing the time and place for all things. Our culture, unfortunately, tends to encourage us to stay in high gear all the time. The summer can be particularly challenging in that regard, as there are so many social opportunities, so much to be done, and the days are so darn long- so much time to do things. And it is natural to be more active in the summer; it is a more yang phase of the year. But finding time for quiet and integration is still really important.

All our activities are important because of how they fit into the fabric of our lives. How we feel about something is the most important aspect of the thing itself. We can only find satisfaction with our lives if we take the time to reflect, cultivate gratitude, and integrate our experiences into our inner sense of self. We can be on an endless quest for more, more, more, unless we give ourselves the time and space to take in what we have. The pause between things allows us to appreciate things that much more. And if we are a change bringer, we can become very dissatisfied if we don’t consciously cultivate the habit of appreciation.

It so important to nurture our inner bounty so that we have more of ourselves to bring to our outer life. Taking care of ourselves, in all the important ways, is crucial, and that means stopping to smell the roses, prioritizing meditation time, and giving ourselves the blessing of enough rest. It also means time for reflection, and scheduling empty space into our days.

Are you over booking yourself and racing from one thing to another. Do you have enough alone time and are you using it to build up your inner resources? Do you have a way to thoughtfully review your days or are you just focused on your to do list and what comes next? Are you so motivated to make a difference that you burn out and stop trying to “be” the difference?

Try pausing in between things to look around and appreciate the moment. Write a few things in a gratitude journal, so that you cultivate an awareness of all that you have, not just all that you need to do. Spend some time in meditation, just witnessing your thoughts flow by and not taking any action at all. Treat yourself to an acupuncture session and a loving energetic tune up. Give yourself a few hours each week when you don’t have anything planned and you aren’t trying to take care of business- instead turn to that most important inner business of allowing, receiving, integrating, and appreciating, so that you can return to your active life renewed, energetic, and in a healthy balance. And despite the challenges of living in this world, don’t forget to laugh and have fun along the way. Today is all we have- make the most of it!