“How sweet I roamed from field to field, and tasted all the summer’s pride.”

– William Blake

The heat wave has passed.  The lawn is turning green again.  The garden is overflowing with food in abundance.  Summer is filling our days with joy.  We dance barefoot in the soft summer grass and savor the cool dew of morning until the sun burns its way through the low-hanging clouds and the day grows ripe.  We eat our way through the fruits of summer as the miracle of life moves from seed to plant to realization.  The sweetness lies in both the flavor of the fruit and the knowledge that, once again, all the universe has conspired to mix air and water and earth and seed in just the right combination to bring about the mysterious process that sustains our earth and all who live here.

The birds do their part, flocking to the garden in the early morning and consuming the insects that feed on the plants.  They bring their own part of the eternal dance to maintain the balance that allows us all to survive and thrive in our world together.  There is something about summer that opens our eyes to the glory, the overabundance of all that lives.  It calls our attention to the realization of life at the moment when all its potential for growth is attained and the world is a showcase for infinite beauty.  The flowers bloom bright-colored, each one bringing a subtly different hue to the rainbow of summer.  Butterflies dance from blossom to blossom, delicately dancing from color to color; and my eyes follow them in the dance of the heart.

The heart of summer overflows with delight, with abundance that calls us to take it all in.  As we burst with abundance, we spill our gratitude along the way; and the world of summer collects all the memory of thanks and of love.  The Earth holds the memory of the glory of summer deep in her heart.  She will lock it away through the seasons ahead and remember the reasons for Fall’s decay and Winter’s sleep.  When the long hibernation of winter is over, the memories of our grateful dancing will surface like seedlings and once again call forth the eternal cycle of life reborn.

Let us dance through the summer, the days of color and sweetness.  Let us take in the sights and the smells and the tastes.  Let us feel the warm breeze as it ruffles our hair.  Let us make our own memories and tuck them away for the cold days that lie around the next corner.  Let us always remember the rejoicing of summer and hold it, warm, in our winter-time hearts.