Restoring your soul means different things to different people. For this post, we’re speaking about your inner you, whether it’s spirituality, mindfulness, or your visions or values. It’s that part of you that feels joy, happiness, sadness, stress, tension, anger. But it’s not just your emotions. Are you drained or overwhelmed? Feeling lost or feeling like you need to rest? Let’s restore your soul this summer.
Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your soul.
Alice Walker
Usually, we come into summer in a rush of last-minute school or work projects that need to get done before vacations start. In addition to those projects, we also have three big holidays in May, June, and July. By the time July 5th comes around, we’re ready to relax and enjoy our summer.
But are we? Or are we scurrying around, packing for big vacations, rounding up family members, remembering passports, or swimsuits, and who eats what snack? Are you visiting family, running around theme parks, carrying all the equipment to and from children’s sporting events, and then flopping into bed each night exhausted?
Maybe you’re having fun but do you feel like you’re doing anything just for you or is it all for everyone else? I understand that if we’re still raising children, we want to be there for them and their events but where are you in this equation? How can you restore your soul? Here are some free or low-cost ways.
7 Ideas to Restore Your Soul
Spirituality. Yes, you can reconnect with your spirituality. Find your inner truth here and reconnect. I know a lot of people don’t go to church as much during the summer but does that mean you’re not spiritual for the entire summer? Stay connected whether that’s through reading, praying, and/or meditating. You can also try gratitude journaling. Find grace each day and journal about it each night.
Read. I cannot stress enough how important reading is. Reading can be free (go to the library) or low cost (use Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited.) Reading is one of those things that can take us out of “our” world and place us in another. It can boost connectivity in the brain, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and improve sleep. How’s that for restoring the soul?
My sister and I used to get books from the library and tracked what we read in little notebooks. Now there are apps to do that. Check out this post for the best book tracking apps.
Take a vacation from your vacation. I don’t know about you, but I hate vacations in which we’re running around trying to check things off. Although I enjoy Disney, the worst vacation I ever had was one in which we got the meal plan and had to be at specific restaurants at specific times. I felt like we were jumping through hoops on a vacation.
And, there is nothing more stressful than the trip back from a vacation. Either take an extra day off, if possible or build an extra day in at the end of your vacation to just relax.
Have fun. Yes, find your kind of fun. Whether that’s playing with your kids or grandkids. Taking a personal day just to go to the beach. Spending time in your garden. Playing frisbee, golf, corn hole, wiffle ball, or any other outside game. Getting together with friends for a game night. Whatever you find fun, find the time for.
Exercise. Summertime allows you to exercise outside. Go swimming, hiking, bike riding. Find what’s fun and fits into your schedule and go do it. When I lived near a hiking trail, I used to get home from work, throw on my hiking clothes, and go for a short hike after work. It was a busy park, so I was never afraid of being alone and with the longer summer nights, I was home with a couple of hours to spare before it got dark.
Get Creative. It’s summer, make some summer crafts for yourself or with your children. Press some flowers, or make Plaster of Paris shell art at the beach. Cut flowers from your garden and arrange them in a vase. Make paper flowers, make a junk journal or any scrapbooking idea. You can write a journal, a poem, or a story. Paint anything, make sidewalk chalk art, or just paint a bedroom. Get creative in any way that suits you.
Stay Present. No matter what you’re doing. Stay present. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the time spent with family and friends. Create memories.
