“This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realize that it is August: the summer’s last stand.” – Sara Baume
As we stood in the historic center of Pula, Croatia, in front of the Pula Arena, we felt the August heat beating down on us in a way that demanded presence. Our tour guide explained how Augustus Caesar established the Roman Empire and became the first Emperor of Ancient Rome. He originally built this Roman amphitheater out of wood! It is the only remaining Roman amphitheater to have four side towers entirely preserved. As she talked about the fervor around this well-loved Emperor, she wove in the spiritual symbolism of August. As the baking summer heat intensified, we were in a dreamlike state, listening to her. Augustus was known for peace and prosperity that comes from hard work. This month is named after him because it is about enjoying the fruits of our labor, the seeds we have sown. It is a time when parts of this earth we stand on is warm, yet there is a whisper in the early evenings of the impermanence of heat and the changing of seasons. Augustus believed in basking in our accomplishments while preparing for the promise of the new season. It is a time to honor the balance between action and reflection and evaluate our path to date. August reminds us to accept change, welcome change, and maybe even invite change … In other words, we must work daily to FLIP what we know on its head and make way for the new. Augustus knew that agility and comfort with uncertainty were important to the sustainability of his empire…
The dreamlike state was broken with the word FLIP.
That evening, we sat on the shores of the Istrian Peninsula. The sun dipped as we
watched the kids FLIP repeatedly into the crashing waves as the lessons of the day washed over us.
To FLIP: to toss and to cause to turn and especially to turn over.
This was the first definition to come to mind as it was happening in front of us as the kids tossed themselves in every direction, their laughter mingling with the lapping waves. Realizing their comfort in pushing their bodies in new directions was a skill they practiced every day, it wasn’t a chore. To FLIP was to feel off-center, dizzy, strong, unsteady, confident, sometimes scared, and adventurous. It was a new axis from which to see the world.
As we talked and watched the kids, more definitions of FLIP came into being…
To FLIP: to change from one state, position, subject, etc., to another.
Moments flashed before our mind’s eye, driving 6000 miles from Plymouth, Massachusetts to Oregon to study the Westward Movement on America’s stunning scenic byways, changing hemispheres as we made our way from Hawaii to New Zealand for a year with my sister’s family, waking up so disoriented with a huge smile on our face knowing we would never be the same again for having made this journey but not knowing why. The overriding memory that surfaced with this definition was our decision in the spring of 2013 to sell it all, walk away from everything we knew, and see what the world had in store for us. It was a huge FLIP and it was so right.
To FLIP: to move with a small quick motion
We reminisced about the many times we had to pivot; driving to Stockholm, Sweden to take the ferry to Estonia when border conflicts broke out with Russia. We quickly turned the car around and made our way back to Italy. Or when we were in Thailand ready to cross into Malaysia to teach English at a small rural school when tensions erupted between Myanmar military and armed groups near the Thai border. We also talked about the many times we tried to learn new things without a shared cultural history like dancing the Flamenco in Grenada, playing the ukulele in Hawaii, and learning Haka in New Zealand. We adapted our movements as we learned, one bated breath at a time, a fraction of what the rhythm and sound of a history of a people felt like.
To FLIP: to turn (something) on or off with a switch
When we first started reminiscing about this we thought about how when we left the USA in 2013, we had only one laptop and one cell phone that could only be used in WIFI. The kids had books, Legos, yoyos, and each other. We were not on any social media for years after our departure and the memories from this era of our journey are so rich, as if time stretched out before us like a long summer day. As we continued to talk, what we remembered became less literal and we thought about how we have had to turn off or away from many negative opinions about our path and our choices over the years. This is something we all have to do as humans but this journey, or any journey where humans choose the road less traveled, speeds up this learning and we are grateful for being able to connect with all people and opinions without internalizing those that don’t serve our vision.
To FLIP: to change or move through (channels, stations, etc.) quickly
So many moments came rushing back when we read this definition especially the time we arrived to housesit for 3 months in Tuscany and the home was uninhabitable. We drove away with 3 small kids and nowhere to sleep. We knew it would work out but we only had a few hours. Feel a bit disillusioned, we pulled over near a roadside chapel on the hill below Cortona, Italy. We got out of the car to stretch and felt the urge to keep climbing the hill to the beautiful village we could barely make out from where we were parked. Everything moved so quickly once we arrived and Cortona became our home for 2.5 months as our path revealed itself. We have learned time and time again that in order for things to change or move through quickly, sometimes we have to get out of our way and the FLIP will come to us if we allow it.
To FLIP: to turn or roll from one side to the other
We agreed as we mulled over this definition that it was most applicable during the teenage years (that we are still in). We thought specifically of when the kids left on individual scholarship journeys to Vietnam, Mexico, and then to the highest elevations in Peru to volunteer and learn in the Southern Hemisphere. We found ourselves disoriented as we were experiencing life simultaneously from many different points on the globe. We had to redefine what together means for our family. This new definition of togetherness served us so well this past year as the boys attended university in a foreign country. We talked about how we are even closer now than we have ever been. FLIPping and turning our definition of family time into something that evolves with our changing circumstances is vital.
To FLIP: or flop, flipflop
Life is better in flip-flops. No explanation necessary
Finally, the last definition is both an experience and a beacon for August and
beyond.
To FLIP: to become very enthusiastic
We have said many times, that there is never a happy ending to an unhappy journey. There is a Jean-Paul Sarte quote we talked about when we first met after I came across it in university many years earlier, “I have led a toothless life, ‘he thought.’ A toothless life. I have never bitten into anything. I was waiting. I was reserving myself for later on-and I have just noticed that my teeth have gone.”
It doesn’t matter what we bite into, whether it is wandering the globe or planting a garden. What matters is that we listen to the voice that says, take a bite, now! It has to be now before we reason our way out of the desire to bite.
To FLIP and change course, altering our path and our mind is so important whether we physically go anywhere or not. When we are less threatened by failure, like the kids flipping on the beach, often landing with a mouth full of sand, we are more willing to embrace life’s challenges, take feedback, and continue to learn and grow.
“The first step towards change is to believe that it is possible.” – Augustus (credited for
200 years of peace for the Roman Empire)
Are you ready to FLIP? Starting small, with unique toppings on a pizza or a new path to travel to work, helps us begin to build the muscle. It is fun and it is contagious. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with our current path but there is energy in the FLIP and you can only find it by doing it. As August is summer’s last stand, the time is now!
This month the LIVIT practice will be all about finding the joy in the FLIP and how that can ignite you wherever you are in your personal journey.
