Remember "that" Summer?
You can bring that energy back. In small ways.
Hi, hope you’re doing amazing. I used to write this with a cup of coffee and snow falling. Now, almost July, cold brew in hand…the screen door wide open and sunlight streaking through. You’re reading The Bright Side—a bi-weekly dose of calm and clarity in a noisy world.
Remember that summer?
I’ve been thinking about that Summer. You know the one. The one you still daydream about.
Maybe it was the year you turned 17. Or 25. Long drives, loud music and too many sunsets to count.
Most importantly, there was no “five-year” plan. Just looking forward to the possibility, to the unknown…
And yet, that energy doesn’t have to be lost forever. I think, actually, no, I know that we can bring that back in small doses.
It’s just buried under routines, responsibilities and a constant hum of what needs to “get done.”
But it’s still there. Waiting for us to notice. And feed it a little of our precious attention.
This week I came across pictures of my Alaska. Just 22 years old, dropped off by a bush plane in the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness for a week with two friends. We didn’t see a single person, only bears, eagles…
And I’ll never forget sitting by a raging river at 3am, light still hanging in the sky amongst stars, feeling wild + free and fully alive.
And just like that, I remembered: Summer isn’t only special because of sunshine.
It’s a spark from our younger selves, a gentle nudge that says: “Hey, remember me?”
That Summer isn’t gone. It’s still a part of you. And it’s available right now.
It wasn’t just about the sunshine…
What did summer teach you?
It wasn’t just another season. It was a state of being, including:
Unstructured time…
Saying “yes” to new things…
Driving past your exit just to keep the song going…
Laughing so hard that you felt you might pass out…
Feeling infinite in the back of a pickup, under a sky full of stars…
And just enough rebellion to light that spark inside of you.
Maybe you forgot what that felt like. Traded that feeling for responsibility. And maybe you can’t remember the last time you did something for the first time.
But you can still live from that place. Not recklessly, but with aliveness.
Not by quitting your job and buying a van (unless you want to, of course)...
But by giving yourself space again. Permission to get lost in a moment.
It takes a little vulnerability. But when you do, the noise fades and something real returns.
So here’s a small way to begin.
Get that feeling back this weekend 😎
You know the one. It brings you right back.
(Bonus points for replying back with “your” song.)
2. Say yes to a little (and random) adventure.
Nope, it doesn't have to be a cross-country road trip.
Wander into a bookstore. Join a pickup game. Hike that mountain.
3. Spend an hour with someone…without your phone.
Summer connection was undistracted. That was the magic.
Call a friend and invite them to a picnic. Share a meal, a walk, something.
This isn’t only about nostalgia.
It’s about remembering the version of ourselves who knew how to live.
And letting them lead once in a while. Because that’s good for the soul.
There’s a reason Steve Jobs ended his Stanford commencement speech with the words:
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
He knew the power of holding on to that youthful spark.
No, “that” Summer wasn’t a fluke. There’s a reason you’ll never forget it.
It was a glimpse of what life feels like when you’re fully alive.
Until next time,
