Summer Solstice marks the time when the sun reaches its peak and fills our world with light. It officially marks the beginning of summer, and also offers an opportunity to reflect on our own lives and the ways we show up in the world. And the ways we’d like to show up in the world.
Many people talk about “claiming your power,” but that phrase can be a little misleading. It sounds as though power is something we need to achieve, or earn. As though someone else has it and we need to figure out how to get it.
What if claiming your power has less to do with gaining something and more to do with remembering something?
Over the years, many of us learn to give away pieces of ourselves. We look to others for approval. We silence our intuition when it conflicts with what we think we should do. We adjust ourselves to fit expectations, avoid criticism, or keep the peace. Little by little, we can lose touch with the part of ourself that knows who we are and what we truly want.
The result is often a feeling of disconnection, exhaustion, or being stuck as we find ourselves living according to old stories, fears, and obligations that do not resonate with the life we want.
The Summer Solstice invites us to step into the light and take an honest look at what we’ve been carrying. Not with judgment or shame, but with curiosity.
What beliefs and old stories are weighing us down?
What expectations have we accepted without questioning?
What parts of ourselves have we hidden because we were afraid they might be too much, or not enough?
Nature offers a beautiful example this time of year.
Flowers don’t apologize for fucking blooming. Trees don’t ask permission before reaching for the sky. The sun doesn’t dim itself to make others comfortable. Everything simply expresses its nature as fully as possible.
Claiming our power is not about becoming someone new. It’s about removing the layers that have obscured the truth of who we are and stepping fully into our light.
As the light reaches its fullest expression on this Solstice, consider where you might be ready to shine. What might happen if you trusted yourself a little more, doubted yourself a little less, and gave yourself permission to be the authentic expression of who you came here to be?
Your power isn’t something you need to earn, achieve, or become worthy of. It’s already there inside you. The invitation of the Summer Solstice is simply to remember that, and to let yourself shine.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
– Pink Floyd
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