The “dog days” of summer are here. I always assumed the “dog days” referred to the laziest part of the dog’s year. It made sense to me. Having two dogs I can tell you this is not only when they shed the most fur but it is also when they are the slowest moving and laziest. However, the term “dog days” refers to the dog star, Sirius, and its position in the heavens. This occurred around the time of year when Sirius appeared before the sun. To the Greeks and Romans this was the hottest time of the year in late July early August. It also was a time of year they felt brought fever and unfortunate events.
Fast forward several hundred years and the phrase “dog days” has taken on new meaning. We no longer associate with the astronomical dog days (which changes based on your hemisphere and the earth wobbling around over the years). Today we look forward to the dog days of summer. As a New Englander, during every March snow storm I pray for the dog days to come. And then as a New Englander, once the dog days are here I pray for autumn to come because its too hot out!
The dog days of summer no longer bring fever and catastrophe but they do bring ebbs to the ebbs and flow of a private practice. August is a slow month for most businesses. People are trying to escape the heat by going to their favorite lake, cabin, or ocean cottage. It is easy when operating your own private practice to feel the heat this time of year. Clients go on vacation, drop sessions, quit because they are going back to college in September, etc… This is no cause for alarm though. The ocean’s tide has two phases. The ebb brings the water out and the flow brings the water right back in. Try to shift your focus to the flow. I brought back a wonderful example of this flow from my recent vacation.
Every year since I met my wife we travel to Martha’s Vineyard. It is our go to destination. It is the place where we feel the most grounded and our souls feel at home. We got engaged on the beach, married on the beach, and now we build sand castles with our son on the beach. We look forward to owning a house on the island soon so that we are no longer limited to how much time we can spend in our special place.
I often use my time on the Vineyard as a reset button. It is easy to get caught up in the Mainland responsibilities and things we think we “need” to focus on. As a meditation practice on the island my wife and I collect sea glass. Walking along the beautiful beaches we let go of our fears and non-allowing beliefs that creep in throughout the year. We look at our sea glass collection as a symbol of how easy things flow into our lives. We set out to find sea glass and then it just flows to our sandy feet as we walk along the water. Our collection is very large. We are blessed with the abundance the Universe provides us.
On this most recent trip to the Vineyard I was walking along the beach picking up piece after piece of beautifully tossed (cooked) sea glass. The transparent colors shimmering just enough to get my attention. I was thinking of just how thankful I am for all that I have. For the abundance the Universe provides me. I then thought to myself, wouldn’t it be cool to find a red or yellow piece of sea glass. (They are rare, so rare not many people have them in their collection. Local jewelers charge a premium for any jewelry containing those colors. They are the rare gems of the sea.) I thought well maybe not yet, maybe I will find one of them once we have our Vineyard house and I will discover it while I am walking on the beach some evening.
I left the beach that early after noon with a pocket full of beautiful sea glass. There were beautiful light blue pieces, a thick piece of olive green, a large smooth clear piece, but no yellow or red colors. Later that evening my wife and I were walking the beach with one of our dogs (Gramma was with our son). We were discussing which part of the island we would want to live on. What time of year we would want to stay on the island (her vote is all year). We were talking about how all we need to do is ask for it, feel it, and then get out of the way and let the Universe do the rest. At that moment what looked to be a yellow piece of plastic revealed itself in the sand. The ocean wave took away the layer of sand covering it up. Turns out it was not plastic. It was glass. It was my yellow piece of sea glass that I asked for earlier. How do I know it was mine? It had my birth year engraved on it.
It is rare to find a yellow piece of glass, it is even more rare to find one with an engraving, this was something else all together. It was my concrete specific sign from the Universe that I was on the right path, in the right mindset, and following the right guidance. I was letting the abundance flow.
So try to shift your focus from the ebb to the flow. Use these quiet dog days of summer to recharge. Meditate, escape the heat, get back into your rhythm whatever that rhythm is for you. Revisit your practice, could you be adding services? Holding group sessions?Finally starting that LLC? Updating your website? Subletting your office when you are not using it? There are many opportunities for you to enjoy the dog days of summer. Whether its bringing in a new client base or sitting back on a lounge chair next to the pool, the key is to Lean Towards Joy™ while you are doing it. Thats when the tide will flow.
