This time of year is what I call the “new year.” Having been a teacher for so many years it calls my attention to the community and families. It’s a time when children can be seen waiting under trees for school buses; for many of them it’s their first time while others more their senior have already gone back to college. With all this activity we find that in the air is a quality of busyness and the itch to stay outdoors and fully be in the sun, while our needs at home to tidy and set in place our spaces for the new season are nearing upon us.
We gravitate to the summer season’s final splash of color and light, tucking it into the pockets of our minds eye as a warm memory we hope to relive in the colder seasons to come. We salivate over the ripe tomatoes and zucchinis that are bursting in flavor abundant for us to enjoy; and we do so with pleasure. Long weekends allow us to come together with those we love for a final celebration in shared hopes for a good beginning.
What we choose to do with our time during these days speaks to our own version of yin and yang as we seek balance. The beginning and end of seasons, the savoring of what is now and the letting go of what no longer is a part of us all culminate during this time. When we honor these transition periods we find that our lives speak in healthy patterns, reflecting back to us in ways that allow us to pay attention and take heed.
Seasonal changes can be a guide to help us continue to participate in our life with a healthy mindset.
Late-Summer to Early- Fall: Honoring Transitional Elements
Food: Foods that we find at the local market are still around until mid Sept and October in many of our areas. It’s a good time to get the ripe pickings that may not have been cooked up yet and get our preserving equipment out. We might take basil for example, chop it up finely with oil and store it in ice cube trays. These can then be defrosted into a soup or used on a dish for a nice zest for a meal. Carefully choosing what we do with our produce and being mindful of its abundance and qualities savors their importance in our lives.
Clothing: Late-summer climate has elements of very hot days with mornings of dew and colder temperatures that allow us to sleep and wake refreshed. We might wake to find us needing a light sweater and pants that we layer on top of a tee-shirt for the afternoon when temperatures are more likely to warm up. Taking a moment to assess our belongings and inventory of our clothes can become a deliberate act of letting go. As we select what we want to stow away for next year’s summer and comb the attic for more sweaters and longer pants we can be fully engaged in this awareness.
Shelter: For many of us our homes have been absent of our presences for much of the summer season. We may stop in for our meals and rest time but find ourselves quickly out the door when a moment comes to enjoy the weather. Our rooms may have been neglected from cleaning or tidying up as we seek to be freer of our household chores. During this transitional time we can take a weekend to straighten out a few areas of our homes. Perhaps the car that has been left agile out in our garage could use a good wash, or the kitchen pantries and cabinets a wipe down. We may want to repair any broken tasks that may be more difficult for us to manage come the colder seasons outdoors. Practicing such we allow the energy of our homes to flow and with such the end and the beginning of a new season.
Following the transitional elements of the season allows us to be mindful of ourselves. When we are practicing our lives in such ways we support the flow of health amongst us all.
