On June 21^st we will welcome the summer solstice and with it a new passion for love.

The mark of changing seasons has long been celebrated throughout cultures and history because there is a season for everything—including love.

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, signifying not only more direct sunlight to play within, but also to provide more inner light for our hearts.

During winter, we slumber, sometimes both literally and figuratively. In spring, we awaken and grow. But it’s only within the heat of the summer sun that we are able to blossom. There’s a reason that the sweetness of summer romances are spoken of so tenderly; it’s during this season that we allow ourselves to take more risks and open our hearts to possibility.

The heat within the air is only matched by the fire we feel within ourselves.

Perhaps, it is more convenient to think of everything in life as random acts of either despair or wonder, yet there is a lingering truth that maybe everything that happens does so at the perfect time. It’s been said that nature never rushes and that there’s a symphony of eloquent timing. The trees all gain new leaves when they are meant to, and the red, twining roses bloom when they have grown enough—all according to their own mysterious workings.

Yet, as humans, we often forget that we too are a part of nature.

We can’t be forced or coerced into doing anything that is not in perfect harmony with our souls. To approach one another through peace and mindfulness requires that we look at each other as if we are all in the process of growing and blooming.

For some of us, it takes just a few months to sprout and grow roots, yet for others, we have to be planted inside during the frigid winter gales and tended to carefully until we’re ready to bloom. Regardless of how long life and these meandering lessons take, the one guarantee is that we will learn them, simply because it’s what we are meant to do.

Lessons in love have been abundant this year for so many of us. We’ve seemingly rounded a corner on our own soul development, which means no longer are we approaching situations with the same mindset—we have grown.

This newfound basis of knowledge is what helps us bloom within the heart of love.

During this solstice, we will be more eagerly seeking the truth and that which we have either hidden from or weren’t yet aware of. It won’t be because someone else shines a mirror onto a darkened corner of our heart, but rather it will simply be that it’s time. No longer are we scared of our thorns or even the radiance of our blossoms because during the cold and transitional months, we’ve accepted ourselves and whatever contradictions that led to.

One aspect of romance and love that we often overlook is that we can’t really invite another to love us until we know ourselves. We can’t ask for love if we don’t know what we’re willing to give in the process.

The mingling, humid air has a tendency to enflame even our deepest desires, and will be sparing no kerosene when it comes to setting us on fire for what we truly want in this life. As the solstice nears, it is becoming increasingly difficult to talk ourselves into accepting a love that isn’t completely fulfilling, because we are getting more in touch with our core needs.

It’s the season of why not—of making up the rules as we go along and being willing to risk everything for love.

We aren’t all in the same space at any given time, and while there are discrepancies within our individual journeys, there is also an overall theme to this year that many are experiencing. Love has taken the long road this year. It’s been a two-way street that has often taken detours within the darkness—but it has never been about just arriving at the destination. It’s been about embracing the journey to get there as well.

If we can pause and look back on all that has occurred, we can see that it’s all been for a reason.

Each time we’ve been asked to slow down, or to wait, we’ve really been learning and growing along the way. Love is never about an ending, but rather an awakening that occurs in the best of circumstances when we meet someone whose soul purpose is to wake up our own.

During the next few months of summer, walls that once existed will crumble into nothing more than a foundation to be built upon. Crushed egos and burnt out dreams will be overtaken by the beauty of life when it works out differently than we had imagined, yet all the more fulfilling.

And of course, there’s also the sex.

It can’t be denied that there is something sublimely sensual about a hot, summer night and the way that the air almost beckons us to step out of our comfort zones and into our hearts. Combined with the long days and starry nights, we’ll be seeking more opportunities to connect ourselves to our earthly pleasures.

We’ll be reminded that the greatest source of passion can often be found in realizing that we aren’t separate from nature, but a part of it.

It’s the season for lust, for love, and for letting ourselves be reminded that we burn brightest for those things that set our souls on fire—and that is what we were after all along.
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Author: Kate Rose
Image: Sirius Azadi/Unsplash
Editor: Nicole Cameron
Copy Editor: Taia Butler
Social Editor: Yoli Ramazzina