Leigh Harris MS, LPC, NCC, CCTP • Contact Leigh • relatecounseling.com • @relatecounsel

“Always take a minute to sit at the top of a mountain and appreciate where you are, who you’re with, the absurdity of this life. Take joy in it all.” (Richard Moore tribute by Caley Fretz)

As summer arrives in all its heat and swelter, I remember the freedom I felt as a kid and school let out for the summer. The days were long and stretched out slow and inviting, with lots of time to do the things I wanted. It still feels like summer is a time to slow down. As the heat saps my energy and makes me more lethargic, it reminds me to sit and be still. I think of the beautiful tribute to the cyclist and journalist Richard Moore, who passed away in 2022 written by his friend and colleague Caley Fretz, about how Richard lived:

“Always stay for the extra beer, Richard said. Always stay for the extra laughs. Always make the extra call and ask the extra question, always wait the extra minute in the press corral. Always take a minute to sit at the top of a mountain and appreciate where you are, who you’re with, the absurdity of this life. Take joy in it all. These paths we’re on do not continue indefinitely, though we thought they would. May they cross as often as possible.” (Richard Moore tribute by Caley Fretz, Velo Outside Online, March 20, 2022)

After losing my husband and best friend, Ted, tragically six years ago, these words are especially meaningful to me. I try to live this way, knowing that life is short, but often find myself in a hurry, watching the clock, on to the next thing. For me, summer is a time to not watch the clock, to slow down, stop, breathe and take a minute to find joy and appreciate wherever I am. Maybe I’m not sitting at the top of a mountain, but somewhere else that’s equally beautiful — sitting with family or a good friend, taking in the colors of flowers, hearing the shouts of children playing, birds singing, feeling warm sunlight or a gentle breeze among the trees, rain falling, the touch of the soft fur of a sweet pet, reading a good book, the taste of cool summer fruit. To slow down. To take it all in. To appreciate this life. To take joy in it all. Even in the pain and mess that is life, there’s joy, too, if we look for it. Shadows do not exist without sunlight.

Wishing you a slow, joy-filled summer, taking a minute wherever you are,

Leigh

Photo credit: Jill Wellington