Today we start the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere—June 21. I just returned from Fairbanks, AK where tonight a midnight baseball game will be played under natural light! In a land known as “the midnight sun”, folks in the northern reaches of Alaska and Canada are grabbing the solace of daylight as long as it lasts!
There’s something about sunlight that not only heals the bones but warms the heart. Even in her dementia, Mom would sit in her wheelchair, eyes closed, and face turned to the sun. “It’s so delicious”, she’d say, licking her lips.
What a sweet memory. I think if Mom knew she’d get four months of “almost” all sun, she’d move to Alaska.
This summer season also started me wondering about ways in which we might generate our own heat and healing. There’s good reason for the song verse that seeks “the sunshine of your smile”. Imagine what a difference it might make—for 365 days of the year—if we all practiced that form of sunshine. Whether smiling at a store clerk, the man walking the dog, the stranger crossing the street, or the new neighbor, I can bet the response would be delicious.
So, here’s the challenge I am setting for myself: Each day, I want to literally count the number of people to whom I can smile and say, “good day”. I want to walk in the gym and smile at the employee behind the desk, give a thumbs up to the grumpy old guy on the bicycle, and give a shout out to the newcomer trying to slowly edge back into weight training.
What about you? Will you join me? Let me know.
PS: You can also think of ways to extend warmth to a client or customer. My sister just sent me a summer solstice idea about a pet food company called CHEWY.
Susan wrote: "This is example of great corporate humane response. I buy from Chewy.com regularly for our birds. They provide great service, product, and price. Now I have an important reason to be loyal and look there first." https://www.today.com/pets/pets/chewy-sends-flowers-woman-pet-food-dog-dies-rcna33956
Welcome to Summer.