The heart is the summer sky within us
For Summer’s Fire, the energetic explosion of spring slows into a gentler unfolding. The landscape spreads wide, and there is a fullness to all things — as if the whole world is stretching itself into its greatest reach. Summer is nature’s most visible offering, a season perfecting what Spring began. In this ripeness there is not just growth, but the sense of having reached the edge of our own flowering — maximum potential, bright wakefulness.
Fire is the most open of the five phases. Here, we turn toward the wider world of “other” — the unfamiliar, the exciting, and even the unsettling. It is a time to declare our right to be ourselves while honouring that others must also find their own form in which to live.
summer’s INVITATIONS
Nurture Your Potential
Take 10 quiet minutes to journal: What would make my life feel deeply meaningful right now? Write from your heart, not your head. Let the words pour without judgement. When you’ve finished, circle one action — however small — that moves you in that direction this week.Follow What Makes Your Heart Sing
Notice the moments when joy arises without effort — a sound, a scent, a colour, a conversation. Keep a small list of these and see if you can invite more of them into your days.Seek High Places
Balance the rising yang of summer with spaciousness. Find a high place — a hill, a rooftop, a viewpoint — and linger. Let your eyes wander across the horizon. Notice how nature’s beauty unfolds without hurry.Come Home to Your Own Heart
Summer opens us to the world — the sun, the social gatherings, the endless invitations. Each day, gift yourself 15 minutes of privacy. Close the door, put on music you love, sway or dance. Let your body remind you of its own rhythm beneath the noise.Meditate on Emptiness
Try this Empty Heart Meditation on my website — a free practice to reconnect you with the quiet, steady flame within.Honour Abundance
List what you’ve grown and accomplished so far this year — in your work, relationships, health, or spirit. Where do you feel “enough”? Where is there a hunger? Choose one small way to nourish what feels lacking.
As we move with Summer from the innocence of childhood toward the responsibilities of adulthood, our circles expand. We are called into deeper connection with family, friends, partners, colleagues and even the vast ocean of strangers with whom Fire asks us to relate.
In the human body, Fire governs the warmth of our blood, the ease in our hearts, and the jewel at the centre of our chest — the Shen, or spirit. From a Daoist and Chinese Medicine perspective, we are here to live a deeply human life, full of its inevitable challenges, yet also to unfold the unique gift we carry and offer it to the world. For the Ancients, this is the desire for a life that is not just lived, but meaningful.
