“Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad?” ~ Dodie Smith
Many of us resign ourselves that the unofficial last day of summer falls on Labor Day. Autumn isn’t really here yet of course. But schools have started, pools have closed, vacations and leisure days have drifted into memory. To me this is a time-in-between. It is a liminal experience like twilight. If we only allow ourselves to appreciate the transition, there might appear a new appreciation of the warmth and lusciousness we experienced while anticipating the brisk splendor to come.
The days are getting shorter and the nights longer. It is a kind of descending. I suppose that is why a dear friend asked the other day that I not write about the end of summer yet. He reminded me that the Autumnal Equinox was still many days away. His love of summer is well known to all of us. But with it comes a loathing of winter. He dreads what is coming almost to the degree that he sometimes misses Fall all together. Perhaps it is the darkness he fears as if it were the cliff edge of destruction. It represents the losses and grief he has experienced in his life. He has had enough of both.
I told my friend there is good reason to savor the transition time of what I call Summers’ Last Hopes. Summer will always return. And among its’ hopes is that by letting go of the adventures of this season, we will be able to celebrate the arrival of the next. By doing so we can acknowledge who we are, and embrace who we are becoming. We are not alone. God is with us every step of the way.
Be my trusted guide, Lord
and walk with me from the summer into fall,
walk me through the season's change
and the season changing in my soul.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.
In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.
His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
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