In “The Four Seasons,” Vay-Hah-Ess wrote:

Ernest went with his parents and several playmates to the nearest village, on a warm summer day; and they remained there the entire day. All around them they saw green cornfields and meadows, decorated with thousand fold flowers; also pastures in which young lambs were dancing, and wanton foals were skipping about.—They ate cherries and other summer fruit, and enjoyed themselves right well during the whole day. “Is it not true,” asked his father, on their return, “that the summer has also its joys!” “Alas,” replied Ernest, “I would that it were always summer.”



The calendar has now reached and passed mid-August. Already, some likely share the wish “that it were always summer.” If one could stop the shortening of the days, lock in the verdant flowering landscape, and cling forever to the fiery passion of summer’s rosy sunsets, one could perhaps attain a kind of Heaven on earth. If not that, at least one could add to one’s collection of photos here at Ipernity. That wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize.

However, like a butterfly that flutters away far before one can begin to fully appreciate its elegant beauty, summer will soon be gone. In its wake will be the memories we forged over the course of its long golden days. Perhaps even more valuable will be the lessons it has left to all who are receptive to its parting gift.

The sun’s changing position as it breaks the horizon and later slips below it coupled with the ever varying sky conditions assures that no two sunrises or sunsets are ever truly the same. Therein, lies the first lesson. Every person is unique. It is our challenge to appreciate what makes each of us an original, even as we must never lose sight of the common ties of family, friendship, and humanity that bind us together.



With each passing day, morning’s arrival is a little later and evening’s onset is a little earlier. Those developments herald the nearing end of summer. It seems that summer has hardly begun and now it is already leaving us. Summer’s all too fleeting tenure is a reminder that our own life is but an instant in geological time.

To illustrate how quickly time seems to have passed, my 2 ½-year old son grew greatly during the summer. His vocabulary expanded, as did his joy in countless new experiences. Whether it was his saying “good bye super moon” (perhaps a result of my having read him Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon at least once too often?) as we went home for the evening or his splashing down in a freshly-created puddle from a heavy summer shower, the changes have been both rapid and remarkable.

Amidst all that growth, the second lesson is that time does not obey any of us. It moves on regardless of our wishes. Time is a most precious and scarce resource that must not be squandered. Therefore, we should make the most of the time we have in everything we do. That way, we can have a hand in molding a more beautiful and satisfying life for ourselves, our families, and our friends. In doing so, we can make our own contribution to a better world.

If we take heed of summer’s lessons, summer will always reside in our hearts. Far more important, the beauty in our lives, families, friends, and surroundings will always be with us even through a howling winter wind’s iciest blasts or life’s sternest challenges.