From The Innkeepers

August 2022 Blog-Where Has All the Summer Gone?

The name of the month of August has its roots in the word “august” which is generally used to describe someone or something that has reached the peak or zenith of its existence. To be described as august is to be one who inspires a type of reverence that is to be admired. All it takes for me to get into the spirit of this month is to look around in nature. August experiences can be everywhere. We had an “august” experience when we went with our friend Kathy to The Grand Ideas Garden in Grand Rapids which is cared for by volunteer Master Gardeners in Kent County. It is a “pocket” garden in the middle of the city open to all to enjoy and to be inspired by the beauty, balance, and color of all that blooms. It is a safe, peaceful green space that gives to nearby residents a spot to enjoy the beauty of plant life, a place for reflection and quiet amidst the busyness of urban life.

A frequent “august” experience that we have is when we go to visit our local Amish farms. This time of year, especially, one cannot help but bend an imaginary knee to the knowledge and hard work that grew so many fresh things that are good for your body. The sheer diversity and multitude of offerings inspires reverence. The willingness to help, by going back out the field to pick some sweet corn for us because the bin at the farm stand was empty, spoke to me of a humble willingness to serve not often witnessed in our world. During this month at the farms the harvest indeed does reach a zenith when everything from peaches and plums, beans and corn, spinach and kale, tomatoes and peppers, cucumbers and melons to summer squash and zucchini makes its appearance in an abundant fashion. The Amish farms and farmers are indeed august by the very nature of what they do and the spirit with which they tend the land.

But along with every zenith or peak comes the other side of the slope, the downside, so to speak. Along with enjoying the summer months comes the realization this month that it will soon be over. Summer is coming to a close. It slips through our fingers like mud, unable to be molded into a form that will be more enduring. Its shifting ooziness refuses to be held firm. Early summer has the shape of a new-found warmth that seemingly lasts a long time. The shape eluding nature of August knows that the warmth of this time will too soon be gone.

So, take an August day, and set aside the “work” of your life to just enjoy what is left of summer. Help someone else to relax with you. Make space within yourself to appreciate the abundance and beauty of this time. Give gratitude for having arrived at the zenith of this season by sharing something of your own abundance.

In closing, my Twitter friend George the Stourbridge Junction Cat who is himself an august personage, offers many sage words for navigating our everyday lives. I’ve turned one of his favorite sayings into a morning prayer: “Let me be the reason that someone else has a good day today.”

May it be so for you as well.
Marcia