A Mid Summer’s Daydream

There is a meadow, not far from here, that you pass on the way to a local climbing area. We spend a lot of time at this particular spot, as it’s close to our house, and has a great selection of fun routes. I always look forward to the walk to the cliff, taking in the flowers, the roar of the creek, the pines on a distant hill side.

Summer is a fantastic time of year, as the snows recede into the high peaks, and the mountains become a playground where you can do anything you can dream up. It seems like every living thing reaches its peak, clothed in brilliant greens, a celebration of life. The days are maybe a little warm at times, but any complaints are quickly silenced when you think back to the long and wet winter.

At the start of the season, the meadow is nondescript, as life has yet to spring forth. In fact, it’s easy to walk right by, not taking much notice of it. By mid summer, however, it might just stop you in your tracks with its beauty. Little yellow flowers are everywhere, punctuated by the purple clover and other wildflowers. It’s a small spot, but holds an air of significance, like if you were to stay here and meditate all day you might stumble across some deeper meaning of life.

There’s a point every summer when it hits me that the summer has peaked and is sliding back down the other side towards the inevitable coming of fall. Up until that moment, there has been little to no thought given to what lies beyond, all that matters is the here and now. The days are long, the weather is good (mostly) and life is an open canvas that lies before you.

But then the moment passes, and subtle reminders that this bliss does not last year round creep back to the front of consciousness. Like being halfway up a long alpine route on Saturday when a sudden thought of work hits you, it’s an unwelcome intrusion into you current state of being.

It’s hard not to let the mind wander beyond this first realization, to how much time is left before winter settles in. As you asses the coming days and weeks in your mind, it all passes in a blur, and a wave of sadness washes over, at the march of time, when you wish you could linger in these days for more than a passing moment.

But mingled with that sadness is an appreciation for the days you do have left, and an urgent sense to make the most of what remains. So as the nights get cooler, and you see some leaves already turning yellow, embrace those feelings of time passing by, but don’t forget that there are still many days left in the warm sun, and that fall, though bittersweet, really is the most incredible time of year.