Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. --Henry James

When I think of summertime, I hear a lazy, engaging lyric taunt me with and the livins easy But then reality hits and I realize I needed to be somewhere five minutes ago and I cant find my car keys. Maybe George Gershwin enjoyed some easy living in the summers of the mid 1930s, but my BlackBerry is beeping and Ill have to obsess about that later.

Or not. Do I really want to go through the motions of another summer without feeling simple, light-hearted, Im-going-to-watch-this- butterfly-until-I-cant-see-it-anymore kind of joy? No I dont. I want to gaze into the night sky and be able to make out more than just the big dipper. I want to sit on my porch long enough to get to that wonderful, enlightening place that is just beyond bored.

If youre like the rest of us in this multitasking millennium, youve been on the move for so long you probably have no idea how rewarding boredom can be. But after much trial and error, Ive recently learned that if I give myself the time to just sit for a while, the first thing that happens is that my senses kick in and reward me for my trouble. Already this summer, Ive taken the time to enjoy the long-forgotten duet of bugs (do crickets sing during the day?) and birds. My Homedics sound machine can catch a break for a while. Next, the eyes start to provide little treasures. What a busy person sees as a shrub that needs trimming with just a little time to focus can offer an artfully woven spider web glistening in the sunlight.

This summer, Im challenging myself to clear my calendar as much as possible for a person with a young family, a career and an almost college-like enthusiasm for hanging out with friends. I dont want this summer to become the blur that is every summer that I can remember since I was about ten. Before I let my adult version of the back-to-school mentality take over again around Labor Day, I want to be completely reacquainted with what livin easy feels like. And since I dont want to be the only adult sitting around staring at bugs, dare I hope that you do, too?

Action Exercise:
Perch in your favorite outdoor sitting spot (if you dont have one, create one!). Dont take anything to distract you, no magazines, no mail to sort through. Okay, take some ice tea or somethingyoure going to be there a while. Notice things. How do the bird cries differ from one another? Are ants marching in a line or is it tiny mosh pit? Which cloud do you enjoy the most? If you focus on cement long enough, are there tiny particles that glisten in the sunlight? Are the blades of grass perfect or splintered from the lawn mower? How far away can you hear? Is there a dog barking a few blocks away? A siren? A single-engine airplane? This is the essence of summer.