Almost September

It’s hard to believe that it is

already. The summer days seem to fly by so quickly and then before you know it we are turning the corner into fall.

I’ve been noticing the shorter day length and even taking advantage of the fact that I don’t need to stay out quite so late or get up so early to make photographs in the beginning and end of day light. Earlier this week I celebrated an overcast morning by spending time making photographs at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Cloud covered mornings make a kind of softbox of the sky, creating beautiful filtered light for photography. I was so fortunate to have a somewhat cool morning with clouds. About the time I was ready to head home the sun began to peek out and the day began to heat up. Perfect timing!

The turning of summer towards autumn was very visible. But summer is still here for a little while. So I’m savoring it to the fullest.

Lines written in the days of growing darkness

Every year we have been
witness to it: how the
world descends

into a rich mash, in order that
it may resume.
And therefore
who would cry out

to the petals on the ground
to stay,
knowing as we must,
how the vivacity of what was is married

to the vitality of what will be?
I don’t say
it’s easy, but
what else will do

if the love one claims to have for the world
be true?

So let us go on, cheerfully enough,
this and every crisping day,

though the sun be swinging east,
and the ponds be cold and black,
and the sweets of the year be doomed.

— Mary Oliver

The frequent rain this summer which has continued this week has been strange to experience. Though I am grateful that the drought that plagued our state for two years is definitely over, the sheer amount of rain we’ve been having is astonishing. My mind wants to worry or wonder, “Is this the way it’s going to be from now on?” I frequently need to remind myself to let go of worry and simply let it be. We never know what the future will bring, as much as we like to plan, predict and worry.

Your living is determined not so much

by what life brings to you as by

the attitude you bring to life; not so much

by what happens to you as by the way

your mind looks at what happens.

— Kahlil Gibran

Things Happen

Life is unpredictable. Things fall apart. Everything changes all the time. While I don’t want to ignore the pain of loss, I also don’t want to spend my life worrying about what might happen or stay stuck in what did happen.That is no way to live a joyful life.

The questions I ask myself day to day are, “How do I want to be in this moment?” and “What do I want to pay attention to?” It’s so easy to be seduced into worry or negative thinking by spending too much time online or watching too much news on television. It seems that everyone has a prediction or a worry or a belief that things are falling apart.

Mindfulness teaches me to let go of thoughts, even if only for a few moments. It’s like a breaker switch on an outlet. When the current becomes too great for safety, the circuit breaker trips and stops the flow of electricity. Taking regular time to meditate helps me recognize when my thinking is causing me to suffer and to pause, even if it’s only for a moment.

Do you need to take a moment to disconnect from worry? I hope you can take some time out in nature on this lovely holiday weekend to recharge and reconnect to what really matters to you.

May you walk in beauty.