The summer solstice, 夏至, Xiàzhì, is the tenth solarterm of the 24 annual periods. On “Xiàzhì”, summer reaches its peak and this is reflected in the longest day and simultaneously the shortest night of the year.

Day and night alternate daily and take us into the constant change of yin and yang, just like winter with the lowest yin point and summer with the highest yang point. We are integrated into the course of nature and now come to the point of the highest Yang energy.

Yang energy means contact with the outside, warmth and also protection. When it is warm, we can relax and open up automatically. Then our energy flows again, which is our best protection. In addition, the exchange with the outside brings joy, security and thus a healthy balance within us.

The highest Yang also shows us another point in life. Perhaps each of us knows what it is like to be “out of the woods” when we have an illness. Afterwards, the symptoms gradually disappear because we have passed the peak. It is like that with everything in life. It comes from the root, blossoms and fades away, returning to where it came from.

“What you want to reduce, you must first stretch;
What you want to weaken, you must first strengthen;
What you want to give up, you must first build up;
Where you want to take, you must first give;
This is called clear recognition;
The soft and weak will defeat the hard and strong…”

(Lao Tzu 36)

Everything comes and goes when we freely follow the flow of energy. Then things come out of the invisible, become visible and dive back into the invisible. This is the natural cycle.

In this ip “Xiàzhì” we can connect with the warmth and joy of life and learn to understand the spiritual level of the highest Yang. Each participant and each culture has its own individual connection to this principle and thus shows a part of this truth. The more parts, the greater the common understanding of the whole.