Perfect Summer Days

I really love summer in Minnesota. I mean, yes, we only get like 2 weeks of it, but still. It’s pretty awesome.

It’s those long summer days where the sun is up at 5am and doesn’t set until 9:30pm, where you can spend all day long outside because the sun is shining and there’s a gentle breeze off the lake and the temperature never crests 82 degrees – those are the perfect days.

I find, on those days, taking a walk in the woods, swimming along the lakeshore, or canoeing down the river are the things that life is made of, and for.

This weekend I had some family in town and we took a hike at a nearby state park. We brought our two dogs and I strapped them around my waist and off we went. I loved seeing how many families and kids were out on the trails. There were classes going on where kids were learning all about rock climbing, and plenty of people and pets enjoying the hiking trails through the woods. And it was one of those perfect days.

I found myself enjoying letting my brain just go – no restrictions, nothing specific to think about or focus on. And wouldn’t you know, I can’t remember a single thing I thought about during that hike, but my brain felt about 100 times calmer and more collected afterward.

Nature has that rich, cleansing power that few other things have.

In short, I’m breathing easier today, despite a jam-packed family-filled weekend. Just the opportunity to be outside and enjoy the great outdoors was enough to calm my mind and heart to prepare for the week ahead.

It’s that time that rejuvenates the mind, body and spirit. The time where you unplug for a while and realize how small and insignificant, but also how incredibly unique you really are. The time where you can connect with your humanness at a uniquely cellular and transcendental level. Those moments when the pace of life slows with your heartbeat, and your breathing matches the gentle and rhythmic wash of water on the beach.

That’s what life is all about.

And I could spout off a bunch of science for you about the benefits of things like Vitamin D from the sun, or the restorative benefits for the mind of being outside, or the importance of unscheduled time in nature for kids – but the thing is, at our core, we all know about the need for the natural. We don’t need science to tell us that nature is good for us. It’s already in our genes – a historical remnant of past ancestors that we can never quite shake.

Good thing too.

In nature, we breathe easier. We feel the warmth and water, and experience the redemptive relaxation in the natural hum of the earth.

And we can’t help but smile on those preciously perfect days.