The 2025 Summer Solstice begins on Friday, June 20th at 10:41 p.m.

Deer Hearts,

How is it summer already? Didn’t we just celebrate the Spring Equinox?
For so many of us, recent times have been very stressful and wrought with difficulty. While we may not be able to remove that stress, perhaps we can balance it with a short list of ways that can make our lives feel purposeful and our hearts soar, even if it’s just for a little while. Try to open yourself to as many of these things as you can:

• Don’t hesitate to ask for Angelic help
In addition to the Guardian Angel who is with you for your whole life, there are now angels to help us through these stressful times. Try asking for help (even in a whisper) letting yourself trust that you’ve been heard, and then letting go in quiet expectation that you will receive help.

• In the moment, take a natural stress remedy
When you feel your stress levels rising without seeing how they might soon dissipate, consider taking a natural stress remedy. My two favorites are Bach Rescue Remedy, which removes trauma from the electrical sheath surrounding the body, so healing can then happen quickly. I like to use the spray, but they even have drops without alcohol for children and animals.
Siddha Stress Relief is also a spray for under the tongue, using homeopathy and flower essences.

• Do something for yourself that you’ve been wanting to do for a long time, yet haven’t.
It can be something creative, like trying to make something like pottery, or drawing the mountains in the distance, or building something. You don’t have to be good at it; it’s just for you, so you don’t already have to be proficient at it. The experience itself is enough, even if you don’t excel at it.

• In times of stress, what is sorely missing is FUN!
If you can’t think of anything in your life that is currently fun, think back to earlier days. What used to be fun for you then? I like to gather a few jokes to cheer the day of the checkout person at the market, or the Peer Group at the Senior Center, or anyone else I come across who looks like they could use a laugh.
Listening to music or playing an instrument feels great and reduces stress.

Many of us have felt more isolated and alone these last few years.
• To counteract some of this, perhaps you can participate in a group activity or hold one of your own.
How about a gathering of your cousins who you might not have seen in a while? Perhaps you’ll take that hike with friends to someplace you’ve never been before — or get some friends to go dancing — or take a class in something new.
Another version of this might be to contact someone you know who has been suffering from isolation and plan an activity to relieve them of their loneliness for an afternoon or evening.

We may not be able to entirely eliminate stress from our lives but our best shot at happiness is to: Savor the moment we’re in and to be willing to do something to make ourselves or someone else happy, even if it’s only for a day.
Days have a way of multiplying! Doing something for someone else or even for Nature can be most gratifying.

• Discover something about Nature that you didn’t know before
A few weeks ago, during heavy rain, I wondered what happens to ants in their ant hills during torrential rain. Well, it turns out that many species of ants dig interconnected tunnels and multiple entrances as deep as 6 1/2 feet, so they usually don’t get flooded out.

And just the other day, a neighbor showed me the wasp species below (Megarhyssa Strata a.k.a. the Black Great Ichneumonid Wasp digging into a tree stump on his property. Said he had never seen one before. Neither had I, so I took some pics, identified it, and shared its name and info with him and some other neighbors. Turns out the male wasps never sting, and the females — only when directly attacked.

Support a cause or organization that does good in the world with your time, advocacy, and/or money. An example might be one that saves animal’s lives, or lobbies to keep our wilderness areas wild; one that protects healthcare and seniors. Choose something that is in alignment with, and appeals to your loving heart.

• Finally, give something away. It’s a good excuse to begin clearing what you don’t need anymore, but may be useful to someone else.

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE
If you want to share your results, I’m happy to hear from you.

In kinship,

Cie