Don’t Forget to Enjoy your Harvest

There’s something distinct about late summer.

The mornings and evenings are beginning to cool, while the days still hold plenty of sun, heat, and humidity. Sunflowers bow under the weight of their seeds. Dahlias bloom in bright pops of color along the road.

In Eastern medicine, late summer is the fifth season, the Earth element.

Earth is about nourishment: taking in, digesting, transforming, and sharing. And it also asks us to enjoy what we have cultivated.

Lorie Dechar writes, “unless we enjoy and share her gifts, they will ultimately end up rotting in the field.”

I keep coming back to this.

My kids went back to school last week, which is early this year. Part of me is grateful for the rhythm and routine, while another part of me doesn’t want to let summer go.

Maybe this is the invitation of late summer: to pause and notice what is here. To receive it, enjoy it, and share it before the season turns.

The spirit of the Earth element is Yi, which translates as intention. It is the clarity and determination to walk our talk.

So, as we move into new beginnings and new routines, I’m taking a pause to consider my own intention.

How do I want to show up?
How can I be a steady presence for myself and my kids?
I can tell them what to do all day long, but ultimately, they’re watching.
They’re watching how I move through change, what I prioritize, how I care for myself, and whether I actually live what I ask of them.

That, to me, is the deeper work of intention.

To recognize what has grown, to savor it, to share it and to live the values we hope to pass on.

What is your intention today?

What are you being invited to notice, enjoy, and share before the season turns?