End of August is for most, a very melancholic time period in the year. While Christmas, with all its festivities and celebrations, is filled with joy and lust for what the new year will bring, the end of summer, arguably the most joyous time of the year is filled with a strange melancholy.
That is perhaps partly because as kids we have associated the end of summer with the return to school. The beginning of the “real” year. A return to the mundane. This is of course continued in adult life.
The end of longer nights, no alarm clock sleep, and more carefree times ends and is replaced with a return to routine, schedule, and generally, that which we call “daily life”. Because of this, this melancholy that almost all of us at some point feel is absolutely normal and logical.
Yet as in all things, perspective is key. The notion of endings and beginnings is a construct. Being able to see above this allows one to see this change in period, this change in season as one big whole and appreciate it as such. A string of experiences tied together divided only for the better categorization and assimilation of the modern human mind.
This is absolutely necessary for many different reasons which I am sure you can understand. Yet it is important to know that summer isn’t over just because August is ending. That a return to daily life brings about many positive things and that all these that we fear and subconsciously yearn for are better tackled and approached if we take a moment and appreciate our chance to have them. Good and seemingly “bad”.
With the change in climate, September is now a summer month and one, if not the most beautiful month in it. And while this refers to the literal aspects it also reflects upon its metaphorical properties. The maturity of a period is its best time. It allows us to get back at what we must do, work, family, friends, and everything else, with a clearer vision. We can all enjoy this “return” if only we remember not to get lost in the small things but to keep our eyes open to the bigger picture. Day after day. With deep appreciation for it all.