Welcome to the summer—for those of us above the Equator.

To me, there's always something counterintuitive about this time of year—the temps are warmer, the sun feels stronger, and yet—the days are slowly getting shorter. It seems to me that when summer arrives, the days ought to be getting longer.

This brings me to another aspect of the practice—being able to be with  opposite perspectives in the same moment. And the more we can do that—and—go beyond just the notion of either / or, the easier it is to move through life.

So in light of this, I'd like to share a phrase I call on to this day when I'm navigating a tangled situation that I really don't want anything to do with:

"This sucks—and I'm doing it."

Now let's parse this. It's a classic twofer. The first part of the phrase names the reality of the moment: I'm not having a good time; I don't like this; I want this to be over; I'm not happy, and so on…

The second part of the phrase keeps the practice going: taking action, moving forward; doing what's needed to change the first part of the phrase. Notice also the word and vs. "But", which keeps options open for all kinds of possibilities.

What do you do when confronted with a "This Sucks" (2:23) moment?