I always think of summer as a time to relax and unwind, maybe not have back-to-back meetings every day of every week. Spend fewer hours in the office and more by the beach, perhaps watching the waves crash against the sandy shore.

Then (in no particular order): RING! (phone), BUZZ! (BlackBerry), MOM! (kids).

Right. Time to wake up and smell reality. I’m just as stressed out as ever—maybe more so because of this crazy delusion I have about what summer should be like.

Sound familiar? That’s why Rewire Me is focusing on one message to you this summer. Stress Less. Chill Out. Let Go. We’ll feature articles to educate you on:

• an amazing benefit of acupuncture
• books that offer great, easy tips for stress reduction
• a 2-minute posture exercise that will chill you out every time
• incorporating mindfulness and meditation into your life to ease your stressful day

And maybe, just maybe, we’ll get out of stress mode long enough to enjoy our lives, our environment, and the people around us.

A friend of mine once told me that when you feel overwhelmed, when you have too much to do or too much going on, just go outside and look up at the sky. Notice how much bigger than you it is. From time to time when I catch myself feeling that way, I walk outside and look up into the sky. It reminds me how small I am in comparison, and that there is something much larger and more vast than what I’m feeling at that moment. Somehow it works and I can walk back inside a little more grounded.

Unless I head for the beach instead.

We all have busy schedules. But make a commitment to honor yourself these months and take that walk, go out and look at the broad expanse of sky, take a breath and do what you can to keep the stress demons at bay. In a calm moment, find your own answers to these questions, which will help you along the path to stressing less:

• Do I set aside a specific time each day just for relaxing?
• Am I managing my time effectively?
• Is this situation worth getting stressed about?
• What is holding me back from doing the things I want and would love to do?

Then take a minute to acknowledge the beauty of the sky and yourself.

Rose Caiola
Inspired. Rewired.