I had a biology teacher who while handing out exams, would quote “What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare….” Which of course didn’t make us feel any more at ease as we nervously took the test. Recently for the first time since then, I found the poem and there was another line “No time to turn at beauty’s glance and watch her feet how they can dance” written by William Henry Davies. This month of July I am convinced is the most precious of summer months. The days are still long and the sun can be at it’s warmest. It is the month where worries and cares are easier to put aside, when summer moments are shared with friends and family. It is a time to stand and stare and to stand back and get a better look at our lives. When we have our noses against it we lose the 360 degree viewpoint.

At the beach the other day as I sat for hours reading, I observed an eagle keeping watch standing and staring motionless. Now if I was perched and viewing my life from up there, I might notice a few things that needed to be changed or done differently.

I recommend the 15 times exercise to those of my patients who need some help getting unstuck. The idea is to choose a one liner goal or affirmation and write it out 15 times per day for at least 28 consecutive days. This is the length of time it takes to ingrain a new habit.  My latest one is “I waltz with the rhythm of life” and after writing this for a few days you may even remember it during the day to help you keep focused on what is really important in your life.

I am also re-reading “Simple Abundance” by Sarah Van Breathnach. Her timeless daily messages are a reminder to tap into the “sacred in the ordinary”. She quotes from a wealth of authors including William James who wrote “Principles of Psychology”. He said our ability to create our own inner reality can determine if we view the universe as friendly or hostile. He wrote this in 1890!

At the root of any health condition is a vibration that is out of synch. Try to find out how to bring things back into synch by taking a 24 hour mini “healing day”. Clear a space, wipe your appointment book free and do only those things that will help you fill your empty well drop by drop. To get away from it all might be achieved by spending the entire day at the beach ALONE, taking with you your iPod, your favourite books and journal. Here are my favorites: Simple Abundance, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh , The Art of Pilgrimage by Phil Cousineau and Taking Time to Be by Helen Exley. Here are some quotes that inspired me:

“If you spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner you have learned to live” Lin Yutang; “How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterward” Spanish Proverb; “The miracle is not to fly in the air or to walk on the water but to walk on the Earth” Chinese Proverb; “Work is not always required of a man. There is such a thing as sacred idleness, the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected” George MacDonald 1824-1905.