the end of summer

Perhaps it is all the years spent in school, but September always seems to bring an air of new beginnings. Summers are surely fun, but a fresh start is always reason for excitement. Good or bad, the past is just the past. Thankfully, the end of summer also means the end of a bad (but catchy) song about California girls on heavy rotation. Still not sure why Snoop Dogg is on that track.

In some sense, a new beginning is a lot like holding a pair of aces. Excitement brews within. Potential is a thrilling prospect, but nothing is a sure winner in life. Lofty expectations that are unmet can become an even bigger curse in their own right. Each hand has to be played out until the end. And if we are lucky, win or lose, we will be dealt another hand.

Another page turned, another page bursting with new hopes and fears waiting to be written. But for a moment, the page remains blank.

Often it is hard to turn that freshly minted page without taking one more look back. Like the slightly longer last shower of summer, where all the bits of fun, hope, disappointment, and sorrow are washed away without bias and spiral slowly down the drain, thoughts marinate for a few moments longer before entering the recesses of the complicated human mind. Despite our greatest desires and attempts, the past cannot be edited, deleted, or rewritten.

The past should be processed but not held onto, a delicate balance that might only be attainable in theory. In reality, people swing towards the extremes. Some refuse to loosen their tightly clenched grip on the past. It consumes them. Others live a relatively mindless existence, sealing their destiny to repeat the mistakes of the past. If there are lessons to be learned, they should be learned. However, dwelling too long can ultimately hinder the purpose of lessons learned- to apply them to the future.

What lies ahead awaits. And for now, a moment of reflection keeps tomorrow at bay.