Must you intoxicate yourself? If so, intoxicate yourself with the summer day.

Lose yourself in the shifting and dappled shade under a friendly tree, the breeze moving through the grasses like waves on the sea.

Female red winged blackbird

Feed your spirit with the shimmering silver leaves on the crown of a cottonwood tree, birdsong, insect music, cloud patterns, rushing water in the creek weaving patterns in the sand and silt, the scent of wildflowers and tree blossoms…

Come under the influence of the soft morning air embracing you, the hoot owl at dusk, patterns of sunlight and shadow in the leafy neighborhoods, soaring birds riding the thermals, the hot sunlit air…

Surrender to the beating of your heart, the breath flowing in and out of your lungs, the weight of your body and limbs as you let yourself rest, as you allow the earth to support you

Fall in love with the moon waxing to full, filling the night sky with her silvery light, waning to new, repeating her ancient cycle without end.

This is your world, your precious gift. Give yourself to it, body and soul.