As Summer Slips Away

As summer slips away, the days stay bright, but bittersweet with the knowledge that often accompanies goodbyes. An ending is about to take place, just on the doorstep, drawing ever nearer with each passing day, but with it also the possibility of renewal and change. So turn the seasons, so turn we all in the rhythms and undulations of life.

Like enjoying a magnificent symphony, I have appreciated the beauty and complexity of these past few months - the contrasts of industry and rest, the mad frantic chaos of social gatherings and the calm healing silence of solitary afternoons, the cool comfort of home and the warm embrace of the sun. Perhaps all of life is a study in contrasts and we simply strive to find balance in them all, alternating between extremes as notes on a scale and seeking the harmony that is often elusive but so incredibly satisfying when we get it *just* right.

      



















This summer in particular has felt like a gift, for which I am utterly grateful. There's always a temptation, isn't there, to want to slow down the best moments of our lives? To prolong the harmony, to just sustain it just a little longer and then just a little more, basking in beauty and unwilling to let go? But this is not how time works, and we all know it. And rather than chafing against its inexorable progression, I am trying to do two things in these moments: to give thanks for all these evidences of grace, and to recognize, in their passing, that they are opportunities to look ahead to a time of unending harmony and beauty that will never fade.

In the meantime, may I savour this season's final, fleeting days. For every ending is a new beginning and in the right light, bittersweet is beautiful, too.

P.S. I know I'm verging into I might be tiptoeing close to purple prose territory here, but I felt rather poetic tonight and didn't want to do another "boring" summer update. So you're stuck with my rusty attempt at creative writing, instead! ;)