Welcome Summer! June 21st marks the Summer Solstice here in the northern hemisphere.

This late start to the warmth here in Colorado makes it feel like summer is more fleeting this year than years past. I want to grab and devour it like it’s delicious salted pistachio gelato.

Deep sigh.

The weather this year has been especially challenging for me. I realized just how much I am devoted to sunshine. I witnessed how my mood and resilience swing to brooding and unmotivated with the days upon days of rains and clouds.

I have even witnessed changes in nature. I see how my yard has grown differently this year without the consistency of the Colorado sun. Sunflowers - typically tall and lanky, reaching for that shine - seem stunted in their height as if unsure of where to reach.

With the rains slowing down and a shift from 50 to 85 degrees here in Colorado, I feel Solstice as an invitation to devotion.

Devotion. What does that conjure up for you?

I grew up in a household with my grandmother, who was an ordained preacher - quite the anomaly for her generation. As a child, I witnessed her devotion as an unwavering commitment of love and gratitude. She showed up everyday to her studies and prayer. She shared that love out to others in her community and family.

I find I took a different path of devotion. During my last few solo wilderness trips, I realized my devotional practice is at the altar of Mother Nature. A true definition of devotion is about a deep love and connection. I feel that for Nature and our interconnectedness to Her.

Devotion is expressed through embodiment and the practice of deep play - of getting so into the flow of what you are doing (regardless of what it is) that you lose track of time and space. This idea of embodied devotion feels like a critical and missing counter to the busy, hustle noise of this world.

When I lived in Bengaluru/Bangalore at the end of grad school, I experienced the power of marigolds as an offering of devotion. Bhakti is loving devotion - often one that is shared or participated in. Devotion is a practice. This idea that it is not enough to feel love but rather to share it - to participate in a very embodied way through words, songs, dance, chants, meditation, observation, and the like. I also see it as growing flowers like marigolds, are another devotee of the sun (like sunflowers) and thus hold the meaning of love and energy.

Here’s my Summer Solstice Devotional Invitation:

Chase the sunshine later into the evenings with bike rides
Eat outside more
Plant a few seeds of marigolds and sunflowers in a pot
Build a seasonal altar to Summer filled with things I love and feel grateful for
Sit outside to observe the plants and insects - in all their beauty and activity