Did you know that Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, and the first day of summer? This means that as the days grow warmer, they also grow shorter. Life is a constant ebb and flow between giving and taking, and summer is no different. That is the theme of this Summer Solstice Guided Meditation.

Two things can be true at once, after all. Days can grow warmer even as they grow shorter. There are reasons to be sad and reasons to be happy, all perfectly valid, and all existing at the same time.

So do we accept all of one thing while rejecting the other? Some people would say to just focus on the positive and be happy. But what if we could accept both, the positive and the negative, and have a meaningful existence instead of just a happy one?

The thing about both meaning and happiness is that they are not things that one can force. They are things that come along as we experience life, in different amounts at different times. That is alright–it is good even.

If you are finding yourself short in either, then you can reassure yourself by knowing that they are sure to come along if you continue engaging with your life. You might even find a little bit of both or either as you do this Summer Solstice Guided Meditation!

So let’s hop into it, shall we?

Summer Solstice Guided Meditation

A quick pause before our leap–if you are already a meditating guru, go ahead and skip on down to the Summer Solstice Guided Meditation Script below. However, if you are a bit of a meditation novice, then there are some helpful things to know.

First, meditation is a skill. It is something that becomes easier and more effective with practice. If you have a hard time sitting still and focusing on the meditation at hand, it does not mean there is anything wrong with you. It just means that you, like most people, need to practice meditating some more.

Also, just because you might need more practice, it does not mean that meditations will not be helpful for you. The idea behind meditating is training your brain to focus on one thing rather than trying to notice and problem-solve every single thing around you.

Even if your brain gets distracted from time to time as you meditate, continuing with your meditation is helping you gain the ability to direct your thoughts. Thoughts tend to come quick and it can be hard to even notice we are thinking them. Meditation helps you notice that you are thinking and redirect those thoughts to what you want to focus on.

That is why meditation can be such a powerful tool for depression, anxiety, and quite a few other mental illnesses. It helps you grow in your ability to direct your thoughts rather than having them direct you.

So, if you notice yourself getting distracted, do not beat yourself up or criticize yourself over it. Just recognize that your attention has wandered, and bring it back to the meditation at hand.

Prepare for Your Summer Solstice Meditation

Because brains are so very good at being distracted, it helps to try to limit distractions when meditating. Now, remember, any meditation is better than no meditation, so take these suggestions as just that–suggestions.

It can be helpful to try to find a quiet place where you will not be bothered or disturbed while meditating. If at all possible, read through the script once or twice, and then close your eyes to help you minimize visual distractions so that you can focus on visualizing the meditation.

Sit or lie down if possible, in a position where your limbs are not crossed so that your arms and legs will not fall asleep while meditating. Try to position yourself to minimize pain and increase comfort, so that it will not be difficult to remain in the same place for several minutes.

You might even try to drink some water beforehand so that you are not getting distracted by thirst. You’re probably getting the idea by now, so I’ll stop with the suggestions–the TLDR version of this section is: try to limit distractions and be comfortable.

Wherever you are, settle in, and let’s begin this Summer Solstice guided meditation.

Summer Solstice Guided Meditation Script

Begin

Take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. You have made it, you are here, and for now, you have these next several moments of calm to relax into. Let the hustle and bustle of life fade away, like water rolling off of a leaf, down into the ground below.

Life’s energy and chaos will still be there when it is time to get back to it, but now is the time to breathe. To settle in, to relax. Now is the time to exist, open and in tune, within yourself.

You have journeyed a long way, to be here where you are today. Your journey has been one of ups and downs, of wide and narrow roads, and paths that have not always led you straight.

It has been your journey the whole way through, and you’ve made it. You’ve made it here today to this moment, to this summer solstice meditation, to this version of yourself who is seeking balance and acceptance.

Life is not always so very easy to accept, after all. Bitter and sweet live side by side, anchoring you in reality, making you participate in your existence. Sometimes that participation has been harrowing, sometimes exulting, and sometimes barely scraping through, but it has always been yours.

As the summer days grow warmer while the sun’s time in the sky grows shorter, remember how important your place in it all is. You are here. This is your life. Only possible to be lived by you.

Deepen

During your long and eventful journey, there have been times when it did not seem worthy of continuing. Or perhaps you yourself did not feel worthy of continuing. Nevertheless, both you and your journey are still here, sojourning forward toward the path up ahead.

Eventually, you will reach those future moments, but for now, let yourself exist in this one. If your thoughts have begun wandering, that is alright, you yourself have wandered. Just bring yourself back to this moment, to this part of your journey right here and now.

Right now has warmth, after all. Right now has light. And if that light will be shorter tomorrow, well, when your journey takes you to tomorrow then you can meet however much light you have with acceptance and trust, knowing that even as it grows shorter now, soon enough it will increase once more.

The future is always there, ever-changing, and ever-ready to greet you along your path. So let it be, and focus on your life right now.

Focus on the warmth, the things, and the people who help you feel like you and your journey matter. Some you have met along the way, some have followed their own journeys away from you, and some of their journeys continue to align with yours.

Whether they are currently part of your life, they are part of your journey. Acknowledge them and the joys and meaning they have brought you and allow yourself to feel gratitude that they happened across your path.

You have met other people and things on your journey who have brought as much bitterness as joy, as much sorrow as sweetness. You do not have to be grateful for them. Instead, accept that they have been part of your journey and that your journey is still your own no matter how badly others may have scarred your path.

Internalize

Ultimately, that is the key to this meditation. Life changes from cold to warm and from light to dark, but no matter where it takes you, your journey is yours.

You are here today. You are alive today. Your journey is yours to take and even to shape when possible.

Perhaps your journey has felt largely shaped by outside forces. Perhaps your path has been largely filled with weeds, or too full of stones for any good thing to grow. It is not fair, and fair is not what makes life flow. You are.

Consider, for a moment, if there are any weeds that might be pulled to make your life a little easier. Any stones to remove so that when you start forward again, your path may be a little kinder to your feet.

While you’re considering, also consider if there might be any people or things that may help you achieve your endeavors. You are not alone, after all. If no one immediately comes to mind, perhaps you might consider if there are any avenues available to you to help your path overlap with others.

Perhaps a phone call to someone you have not talked to in a very long time, or a way to provide service to someone who has also faced many weeds and stones along their path.

But then, that is looking to the future, so ponder it only for a moment, and then return right here to this, to now. Now you are here, now you are safe, and now you are open to this unique part of your journey that has always been yours.

End

So breathe. Exist. Accept that just as your life now is different than it has been, so will it be different again in the future.

Your journey will change and so will you. Sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better, exactly as it should. Embrace the warmth, accept the decreasing light, and breathe.

You are alive. Perhaps alive with aches and pains, perhaps alive with hurts and sorrows, but still alive. So breathe and live and exist in this fleeting moment for a few seconds longer.

Breathe in and slowly out. Breathe, exist, and when you are ready, open your awareness back to the world around you. It has been waiting for you, just as promised, and now you can face it. Breathe in again, let it go, and re-engage with the world around you.

Not ready for it to end? Check out more meditations below:

Winter Meditation Script: Finding Peace in Storms

Autumn Meditation for Moving Forward & Letting Go

Spring Guided Imagery: Respite Between Extremes

Night Sky Meditation for Rest and Rejuvenation

Guided Meditation for Kindness: Widening Your Lens