Golden Solitude: An initiation into summer light
“Summer isn’t about consumption anymore.” It can be about surrendering to the glowing sunlight. Letting the long days recalibrate you slowly and purposefully giving yourself
1. Wake With the Light, Not the Alarm
Let the sun be your first moment of the day. Even five minutes of natural light on your face recalibrates your rhythm and sets a gentler tone for everything that follows.
2. Drink Something Alive
Cold herbal infusions—hibiscus, mint, rose—speak to your body through their living essence. Pour slowly. Use a real glass. Savor each sip. Breathe.
3. Write Letters You May or May Not Send
There’s something intimate about writing without the need for a response. It clears space inside you.
4. Sit on the Floor Again
There’s something ancient about it. It reminds you of being a kid, quiets the mind, and returns you to a simpler way of being.
5. Keep Your Evenings Unclaimed
Release the urge to fill every moment. Leave space in your day for walking with no destination, unexpected thoughts, quieter conversations—or nothing at all.
6. Let Air Move Through Your Space
Open windows and doors. Lie on the floor and just listen to life’s sounds without judgment. Let the breeze rearrange the energy of your home. Stagnant air holds stagnant thoughts.
7. Eat With Your Hands Sometimes
Fruit, fresh bread, simple meals. It’s tactile, instinctive, and brings you back into your senses with less seriousness.
8. Try a “No-Phone Hour” Daily
One hour where your only job is to exis—read, sit, walk, stretch. It may feel strange at first. Then it will feel like relief.
9. Light a Candle at Dusk
Even in summer—especially in summer. It creates a peaceful transition from doing to being.
10. Create a Summer Altar
Instead of sitting in the sun, sit where it softens. Watch the rays of the sun, it’s choosing comfort over intensity.
11. Follow the Shade
Instead of sitting in the sun, sit where it softens. Watch the rays of the sun, it’s choosing comfort over intensity.
12. Create a Signature Scent
Do this as an activity with a friend. Essential oils, mixed with spring water in small spray bottles you can buy anywhere. Fresh scents activate joy and peace.
13. Walk Barefoot When You Can
Grass, sand, even cool tile floors. Let your feet remember the earth.
14. Make Sun Tea in Glass Jars
Let herbs steep slowly in sunlight—mint, chamomile, lemons. Drink in the sunlight.
15. Make Your Bed Imperfectly
Let it look lived in. Cozy isn’t staged—it’s real. Let go of the pressure of constantly organizing.
16. Turn Off Overhead Lights at Night
Use lamps, candles, softer sources. Your nervous system unwinds with gentle light.
17. Create a Playlist That Feels Like Warm Air
Make a playlist of all the songs that remind you of summer. Share them with your friends. Let it play while you do nothing in particular.
18. Start a “Slow Sketch” Practice
You don’t need to be an artist. Sit outside and draw what you see- imperfectly, patiently. It teaches you how to notice the little things again.
19. Wash Something by Hand
Washing the dishes by hand for a change can be so meditative and reconnect you to your home. Don’t rush it.
20. End the Day With Gratitude, Not Scrolling
Even one quiet thought: This mattered today. Let that be the last thing your mind holds.
“Summer isn’t about consumption anymore.” It can be about surrendering to the glowing sunlight. Letting the long days recalibrate you slowly and purposefully giving yourself
By Oriah Mirza Innocent summer love does not knock loudly. It arrives like warm air through an open window. Soft. Unannounced. Familiar. It is the
Do you remember what it felt like to be a kid… when being cozy was everything? Getting into bed at night, sheets cool at first,
Winter teaches the body to hold. Shoulders creep up, the jaw tightens and our circulation slows. Spring is season of thaw, warmth returning and everything
Subscribe and receive every seasonal issue instantly — including access to the complete digital archive.
Annual Subscription: $40