I hope everyone had a wonderful month of May and a Happy Memorial Day!

I just celebrated my daughter’s graduation. For any of you who are parents, I am sure you can relate to the mixed emotions that day comes with. She is beginning a whole new life adventure and I have come to realize that I am too.

Tapping into our adventurous spirit is what the next few months are about. What will it be for you? For me, it’s the realization that while I will always be a parent, I have fulfilled this part of my role and life is about to move in a new direction.

June is the month in Five Element Theory that we transition into the element of Fire. Fire, in its essence, is a symbol of transformation and passion. Connected to the heart, it represents our joy and zest for life. It is the element that is both a creator and a destroyer. When in balance, it ignites our adventurous spirit, stirring up feelings of desire that the heart wants to convey. It encourages us to face our challenges head on so we can evolve and create more space for what we truly enjoy. When out of balance we can experience feelings of sadness, a lack of joy and the fear of being lonely or rejected.

Consciously living in harmony with the balanced aspects of fire is important to me over the next few months. I have personally been struggling a little bit lately with thoughts of empty nest syndrome. My main purpose has been to raise my child and the idea that she is now moving away has been challenging for me.

The other night she was putting together a memory table and I said, “Oh, do you want me to go get a few boxes of memorabilia that I have saved in the basement?” When I came back up, I had three giant boxes and she said, “Mom, a few?” As we went through it, I found her little t-shirt that they gave her when she was in the hospital and her ballet shoes from when she did ballet. I sat there looking at all her things and thought, wow, all that time and it went by so fast. They say when you are a parent, the days are long, but the years are short and I was suddenly confronted with the truth of that statement.

I don’t know yet what my next adventure will be – I wish I had the answer to that. I know that I can’t just crawl in a hole because my daughter is going away to college, even though at times it might feel like the only option! I realize the best way to navigate this transition is to know there are exciting new opportunities ahead for both of us – but what part of your being steps forward to accept the challenge?

Whatever adventure your heart is guiding you toward this summer, consider that maybe the adventure is not in what you’re doing, but how you are doing it.

Have a great month of June!

In wellbeing,

Betsy