Mid-August is the beginning of the yellow season. In many ways, it’s my favorite time, especially in Colorado. Aspens turn brilliant gold and quake in the sparkling, yellow light of Indian summer. Native sunflowers brighten the landscape as they dance with the light. Other yellow flowers bloom: chrysanthemums, ragweed, even the dreaded goat’s-head. These flowers are different from the daffodils of early spring—sturdier, somehow, making a statement that this is a glorious time to be alive.

Much of Chinese philosophy is based on Taoism, or the Way of Nature. This philosophy holds that there are five seasons rather than the Western four. The extra season is this time of late summer, and it represents the exact center of the year. Spring begins the yearly cycle of rebirth and growth, followed by the fullness and vitality of summer. In late summer, we harvest the fruits of our labors and bask in the earth’s abundance, knowing that when the harvest is complete, it will be time to slow down and move inside, both inside our homes and inside ourselves for contemplation and rest. Autumn is a time for reflection, inspiration, and letting go of things that no longer serve us. Winter is the most inward-looking of the seasons; work is going on, but inside. In this state of rest, energy is collected and held in reserve, because it will be needed to fulfill the promise of the new year to come.

Late summer is both an ending and a beginning. We tire of the hectic, hot days of summer and look forward to autumn’s pleasures, filled with the promise of cool nights and snuggling under piles of blankets. In late summer we almost hold our breath, wondering just how long summer can hold out in the fight against winter, knowing it will ultimately lose the battle, and enjoying the process just the same. We appreciate every warm day like never before.   

Even in the midst of the COVID pandemic and everything else that’s wrong with our world just now, we can still enjoy the seasons and do what needs to be done. The tasks of late summer are to complete the harvest and to bask in the vibrancy of yellow, knowing that it will change soon, but who cares?  This is a most precious time, a time to savor that which is so fleeting, and not try to bring back the past or rush the future, but to live as fully and deeply as we can in every moment. 

Enjoy the season!