Farewell August

And I say a hearty farewell to August. I can't say I'm sorry to see you go. For one thing, it has been unbearably hot most of the month. Of course if we are honest with ourselves, there is no surprise in that for us here in So Cal. I hear it has been just as miserable in the midwest, the northeast, the south...well just about everywhere. I think the Europeans have the right idea: close down everything you can and go to the Mediterranean, or anywhere cool. Yet here, in the US, we send our kids back to school during the hottest time of the year. What the...

Anyway, for me it was a mixed bag of events. Several deaths turned my world upside down. Death, it is apparent, is our constant companion. It is a specter haunting us all along life's way. We can resist it, we can fight it, but sooner or later, it seems to win. But yet, I wonder, does it ever really win? No one ever dies who has been loved in this world. And I truly believe there is something we transition into that is much better than this proverbial "veil of tears."

Honestly, I do not believe life here is meant to be all sadness. It is really more of a learning experience. The month of August this year emphatically reminded me of that; what with good friends, beloved pets, and world events with so many senseless deaths. August had them all.
There is a lesson in all this. It is a lesson sometimes I forget, but in months like August usually I come back to the understanding that life is for living. Death is a teacher. We each much come to grips with the fact that earthly death is inevitable. No matter how much it hurts or cause us anguish.

But life goes on.

​So its with that is mind, I say a hearty farewell to August this year. I hope when you return next year, you will behave yourself. I really want to like you, but you have to meet me half way.

​Happy September.

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