What’s Your Life Month

Ah August, that in between month. The month full of contradictions and juxtapositions. August heralds a close to outdoor summer freedom and the beginning of the indoor ‘ber’ months. It is the time when we check our Summer Bucket Lists and feel the pressure to squeeze out just a few more carefree flip flop days. A time when gardens are in full bloom, trees have borne their fruit, the fall harvest is being considered, and the joy of completion begins to set in. Yet it is also a time of new beginnings, of change, of abundance and hope.

August stretches before us like a lingering dawn shimmering upon the water. Soon the harshness of daylight will be upon us, but for a few more precious minutes we can relish the serenity of gentle light and birdsong. August is like that.

It whispers of sun filled beach days and nights filled with falling stars. Of returning from a summer road trip and a butterfly’s farewell journey home. Of lush hydrangea petals and crispy hosta leaves. August is like that, full of contradictions.

With August comes readiness, when we prepare to go back to school, get back to work after an extended summer holiday, or begin a new endeavour. Yet it is also a time of appreciation for the hard work completed and a time to reap the outcomes with gratitude, as cool autumn days of Thanksgiving gently approach.

If we were to mathematically correlate a lifetime to the Gregorian calendar, we’d say that each month is 7 years of human life. 12 months x 7 years would equal a total lifespan of 84 years, which actually supersedes the average North American life expectancy by a few years. Makes sense right?

In that case, using the calculation above, what’s your life month? And what month do you feel like internally?

Mathematically mine is August, nudging into early September. This means I’ve only got the ber months to go. A sobering thought isn’t it?

Yet it is also a joyful time when I can begin to harvest my earlier plantings. A time of contentment and celebration. And yet, I feel like I’m a May. There too lays a juxtaposition, because I still feel like I have a lot to do, not in terms of my professional life, but creatively and in service.

There is so much more to give and to create. Perhaps because creating and giving don’t come with timelines or deadlines. I do believe part of our purpose in this life is to create and to serve, indefinitely. And we can do that no matter what month we are in.

So take your age, divide by 7 and tell me, what month are you?

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Shares from the Joy Community:

Jo shared the joy of wonder. https://stillrestlessjo.com/2024/07/20/les-machines-de-lile/

Susan shared the joy of freedom https://hartinspirations.com/2024/07/23/our-essence-is-freedom-2/

Erica shared the joy of nature’s beauty in B.C. https://www.readersdigest.ca/travel/canada/green-point-campground/

This is the Journey to Joy series. Write a post about something you’ve experienced on this journey to joy. Ping back or link your post in comments, and I’ll share it in my next Journey to Joy post. Let’s share the joy in this journey!