Meditations on July

July has entered—sun-kissed. All warmth and humidity. The belly of summer.

There are whispers here of something slower, deeper, truer. Something more free.

As with every turn of the page, every subtle shift in the season, nature asks something of us. Or perhaps it simply reflects something back to us, and all we are asked to do is pay close enough attention to recognize ourselves in it.

This past week, my family spent a few days in a small mountain town nestled beside a glistening river. We had plans. So many of them. An alpine lake hike. A day at the hot springs. A handful of adventures penciled neatly into our days.

We did almost none of them.