Chasing Shade
In April we started taking evening walks after dinner as we were aiming to find small things we could do to encourage better sleep at night. The after dinner walks have been a purely delightful addition to our days as we get to share time together, share the happenings of our days, and settle into a more relaxed evening. However as the months progressed, the evening temperatures also progressed. We quickly sought out new routes where we could take our steps outside of the sun’s bearing rays and into the shade where we could get just a little relief from the heat. When we would set out for our walks each evening we started asking the other, “should we chase the shade this evening?” The phrase stuck and now most of our walks are our “chasing shade” walks. Even now as we head into the fall season, with the evenings in our little corner of the world remaining very hot and often humid, we are still choosing to chase the shade seeking that bit of relief. The season will eventually change and we will soon be clamoring for the warmth of the sun. But until then, in this seemingly unbearable very late summer heat, the shade brings much needed relief and encouragement to continue forward.
The idea of chasing shade on an evening walk is an interesting analogy for us in our personal lives as well. Around the same time we started our evening walks, we also entered a season where relief from the day to day has been needed and the hope of future possibilities required. So we chase shade on our evening walks and in our day-to-day life walks as well. We are grateful for the refreshment that comes in small moments and we look upwards with gratitude for the “shade” provided on a difficult or discouraging day. Shade is good and needed for our skin, our hearts, minds, and our spirits knowing that soon the season will change and we will then be seeking the warmth of the sun. The relief and refreshment found in the shade strengthens and prepares us for the sunshine we will soon find ourselves basking in!
If you aren’t in the habit of taking after dinner walks, I highly encourage you to begin. You will likely notice a little better night’s sleep but you will also just be glad you took an opportunity to be outside moving and breathing fresh air. And if it is still unusually warm in the evenings where you live and the change of season seems too far to grasp, whether literally or figuratively, I definitely encourage you to seek the relief and the refreshment that can be found when you simply chase the shade. 😊
Happy chasing shade friends!
Michele