A Plan for Summer

With the first day of summer coming up this week, I can offer my official report on my Spring of Mindfulness: I had a hard time keeping it in mind.

But that only illustrates the beauty of a seasonal theme and a mindfulness practice. A seasonal theme just is—you can't do it wrong, so that's all fine. And what could be more mindful than becoming aware of my disinclination toward mindfulness?

For those who haven't heard this spiel, I adhere to the belief that resolutions are for reso-losers, where themes are for, let's see, theme-pions? theme-querors? Uck. They're for people who want the pleasure of change or the thrill of exploration. A theme isn't a promise, not a pass/fail situation, but merely a present reminder to nudge your actions in some direction when a choice presents itself. I've tried a yearly theme, but I like the pace of seasons better. A season is long enough to see yourself change over time, but short enough that it doesn't stretch into the unimaginable future.

I kicked off the year with my Winter of Motion, which successfully got me off my butt more often, and also saw me try a new task-tracking system, which I've managed to stick with. My Spring of Mindfulness wasn't as transformative, but the point is not to judge yourself, so I won't.

I was about to write that I don't yet have a theme for the summer, but there's a kind of magic in writing such a sentence, and I think I may have found my theme in the moment of confessing that I hadn't.

I was pondering a Summer of Action—get stuff done, maybe watch a few action flicks. That could be fun, but it seems too much like my Winter of Motion. Still, the thought reminded me of Jerry Uelsmann's experiment at the University of Florida, where he divided his photography class into a Quality group and a Quantity group. (Stop me if you've heard this story.) The Quality students could take as many pictures as they wanted, but received their final grade on the quality of one selected photograph. Meanwhile, the Quantity students were graded on the number of photos they turned in. By semester's end, it was the Quantity students with the the highest-quality work, since they got far more practice.

I tend to be a "take it slow and get it right" kind of thinker, so it might be interesting to have a Summer of Quantity, and track my achievements numerically. Words written per day, total cups of tea, small towns visited—figures like that. Then, in the fall, we can run the numbers. I think I like that idea.

If the prospect of a summer theme appeals to you, you have until Thursday, June 20 to choose one. (Or as long as you want. It's not like there's a crowd and a starter's pistol.)