Summer has officially arrived here in the northern hemisphere and I wanted to send you all a wish for a really fun, happy, adventurous summer.

I’m definitely excited about all the fun things my family has planned this summer; camping, BBQs, road trips, a trip to the water slides. It’s so easy to get swept up into the anticipation of all the wonderful things summer has in store. But, there’s a flip side to this time of year, this time near the Summer Solstice. There’s an underlying sadness to this moment in the wheel of the year.

And, boy, have I been feeling it!! The past week has been a serious emotional doozy. I’ve just felt really raw. And super fragile. My spirit has felt really beat up.

Our collective consciousness was obviously dealt a devastating emotion blow last week, after the heartbreaking events in Orlando. That has to contribute to this real sense of sadness and super heavy emotions so many of us are experiencing right now.

But there’s also a myriad of intense energies creating this under-currant of sadness right now; including, the Summer Solstice.

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year and the start of summer. But the other side of that coin is that today, the day after the Solstice, the days start growing shorter again. Already we’re beginning the slow shift inward, the wheel has turned and we’re already beginning the shift back toward the dark days of winter.

And … that’s a little bit sad. It tugs a little at your spirit.

This time at the change of the seasons can also be a pretty tumultuous time. Perhaps, like me, you have found yourself snapping at your partner rather uncharacteristically. Maybe you’ve noticed you’re feeling really irritated at the people around you. Good news! It’s not just you. These days at the turn of the season are pretty rocky.

(We haven’t even gotten to the Full Moon part of all the crazy, intense energy happening right now!)

Can you feel that intensity and that undercurrent of sadness? If you pause, sit quietly for a moment, do you feel a tinge of sadness in your life? (Perhaps you don’t have to be that quiet to feel it. Maybe, like me, you’ve been totally overrun with that dark, heavy feeling.)

So, my message to you is this … be super gentle with yourself right now.

Treat yourself wherever you can. Let go and ease up on your obligations wherever you can. Instead of trudging through dinner preparations, maybe you order out. Perhaps you leave the dirty dishes until tomorrow, let laundry wait a few days. Instead, have a beer. Check out and watch mindless TV. Whatever your vice may be, take extra special care of yourself right now.

And also … let’s be super duper gentle with our partners and the people around us this week. We’re all doing the very best we can. And we’re all feeling a little heavy in our spirits.

So, please, be gentle with yourself and with your people. Take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. And it isn’t all you. We’re all feeling some intensity in the season and in our spirits right now.

And … this will pass.

The flip side of all this is a summer full of electrifying, inspiring, hot, fire energy heading our way. Get ready to start soaking that in and supercharging your spirit.