So the children are being bought new pencil cases and fresh school shoes.The supermarket shout sheets talks of Halloween and Bonfire night.The fashion pages explain how to be chic this autumn.
Get organised if you will or must.Think of the treats and consolations of other seasons.Be my guest.
Can I point out it is August.
The momentum of the year will,inevitably, roll on but I'm going to live in the moment.
The novelist Colette said "we have only the present but it is the greatest gift we have".
I've complained about the humidity and wilted in the midday heat but that's not the whole story.
The silent bookish shade.
The delicious breeze that sweeps your bare shoulders.
The smell of summer rain through an open window as you lie in the dark.
An ice cold drink that takes your breath away.
The nights when the Mambo gives you the energy to defy the heat and dance till you drop.
The mornings when there's Mozart on the radio and a pot of tea rouses you in the sleepy heat.
Diving into shivery water.
A really good ice cream cone.
Brown sails billowing on the sailing barges.
There is nobody who cannot take a minute, an hour or a day to simply be.
To savour a simple pleasure.
I am not going to get to winter empty handed.I will need these things in February.My shoes seem always to have a residue of sand in them.Its still a book in a rucksack not a compact in a handbag.
I will not leave the party early. I'm going to drain the bottle.
No one seems to savor the present. Everybody is in a rush to be somewhere else. Why not indulge in August while it is here? We will be yearning for it in January....
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post, Angela!
Thanks - whats January like where you are ?
DeleteIt helps to not own a smart phone.
ReplyDeleteA ruthless re jig of your settings perhaps.Let the people know its not a beeper or electronic tagging ?
DeleteDear Angela, earlier this afternoon I was one of those folks thumbing through a fall fashion magazine, the supplement included with this weekend's New York Times delivery. Some of the paper's sections get Saturday morning delivery.
ReplyDeleteMidway through the pages appeared the advert placed by my former employer. I paused to have a look and compare the image to those I'd seen in many previous August supplements.
I rejoiced. The model's face, pose and outfit were fine, but my joy came from being at home and not having to encourage ladies to plan and purchase their fall wardrobes. While the August heat kept the beat going just beyond the shop's ac.
Earlier today, I took my large umbrella out into what I then thought was a clearing sky, to take care of a few neighborhood errands. On my walk home, I was just about to close my umbrella when the weather suddenly changed. The sun was shining, but the rain-bearing clouds won the competition.
I quickly slipped inside a neighborhood furniture, housewares shop to wait out what I thought would be a quick shower. I looked at the current palette of the towel display, and then returned to the front door of the shop. From the inside shelter of the span of shop windows looking out on Broadway, I saw intense rain being blown in a diagonal direction by umbrella-threatening winds. Lots of other customers were also delaying their exits; some of them had actually made large purchases. The shop manager and her staff were wondering how they would manage their lunch breaks...already one staffer had ventured out for lunch with a borrowed umbrella.
Where am I going with this? I wanted to express my own sense of being in the moment earlier today, and having no thought whatsoever Christmas. Watching that rain, and seeing the clearing sky was transporting. I never quite saw the rainbow that I thought was just behind one of the tall buildings.
The Collete quote is a good one, isn't it. xo
I pictured your delight in your dual purpose brolly.
DeleteMusic is another thing that will put you in the moment and keep that " now " momentum going I think.
Beautiful poem Angela.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome Bob.
DeleteSo many people chasing their tails en route to the next marker. You're so right, Angela. Stop, stare, and take a good long breath of summer.
ReplyDeleteYour comment reminded me of the poem "we have not time to stand and stare ..."
DeleteHadn't thought of that one for a while funnily enough.
I agree Angela " Bite each day to the core" !
ReplyDelete