September 2025 Week 2

“I must try to be alone for part of each year, even a week or a few days; and for part of each day, even for an hour or a few minutes in order to keep my core, my center, my island - quality…..Unless I keep the island-quality intact somewhere within me, I will have little to give my husband, my children, my friends or the world at large.” Wisdom from Gift from the Sea.
How is your September shaping up? Are you busy in the summer and things get slower in September? Or are you slower in the summer and you shift into high gear in September? Regardless of the rhythm of your life right now, are you able to take time for yourself each day? I love the image of my “island-quality” and in the book, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, when she speaks of “island quality”, she’s referring to the special atmosphere and mindset that comes from being on a quiet, simple, stripped-down island setting.
It’s about:
-Simplicity – life reduced to essentials, free from clutter and distraction.
-Stillness and solitude – time for reflection, creativity, and inner renewal.
-Balance – a natural rhythm between work, rest, and contemplation.
-Clarity – seeing what truly matters in relationships, in personal growth, and in daily living.
She contrasts this “island quality” with the hurried, complicated pace of mainland (or modern) life, suggesting that we can carry the essence of this simplicity and centeredness back into our everyday routines, even when we’re no longer on the island.

Wow this is heaven on earth for me!! That is me living in integrity, walking the walk - literally wow, wow, wow - that is who I want to be and how I want to live.

My summer was insanely full of people, experiences and adventure - soooo fun and I used our intentions and time together to truly stay present and enjoy each and every moment. September has afforded me more opportunity for all that Anne writes about - life essentials, time for reflection, creativity and inner renewal, balance between work, play, rest and contemplation and time to clearly see what truly matters in relationships, in personal growth and in my daily life. Now my challenge is to not fill up every moment with work, fun and people right now, which I have a plethora of at my finger tips. If I do that I will miss this precious discerning time and “island quality” time and I am worth the pause.
Our intention - I choose to surround myself with people who add to my peace - has given me a framework of relationship discernment. I have realized I put a lot of value in my relationships and the quality in which I feel connected. I was prompted in a meditation this week to discern which relationships are motivated by fear and which from genuine love. I have realized there are certain relationships that I am putting a lot of effort into and I am not receiving the gift of reciprocal effort. I continue to make the effort because I think I “should” but also out of fear that I will not be comfortable or complete if I am on the “outside” of certain relationships. I have more people in my life who love and care about me than I can even manage so why do I place extra emphasis on the ones that are not adding to my peace? Who are not reciprocating the effort? I am going to take the rest of this month to lean into cultivating “island-quality time”. Just writing that settles my mind and my nervous system. As always, grateful for all of you who keep me on this path.