I have only recently found out that a lot of humans are feeling sad during the last days of August. Apparently, the reason behind it is the beginning of autumn. Which strikes me as odd, how could a beginning color someone upset? At the same time, I think I can understand how any beginning has as predecessor an ending.

So what is it then? The ending, or the beginning? Or perhaps the transition? The confusing half-sunny, half-rainy days? The contradictory need to stay cold and warm at the same time? Maybe not knowing whether to sip on an iced coffee or bake a cinnamon-apple pie (sometimes, I stop near coffee shops and eavesdrop just the tiniest bit).

I would love to help. To offer some kind of new and shiny advice. However, for me, those days mostly fly by (hehe) as I have training from sunrise to sundown. Not only me, of course, the whole crew. Do not get me wrong, this is in no way a complaint. This watercolor-painted period of time is one of my favorites out of the whole year! I get to become better at something I love while simultaneously spending time with my precious ones. It is truly magical – dancing through the golden skies, starting to feel the gentlest pang of tiredness, looking right or left and seeing someone close to your heart.  

My apologies, I do believe I have lost my footing for a little bit there. It is just hard to contain the excitement once I start picturing it! But I was not lying, I want to be of help. I want to say something so wise that it will change your whole perspective on this seasonal turning point. Hmmm, let me sit on it for a moment…

I have heard something about schools starting again. And universities too! All that academic fuss, the heavy steps crushing a path of chocolate-brown leaves. Sometimes, when I enter a forgotten open window, the smell of old books floods my senses. In my mind, that’s what gentleness smells like. Thin yellowed pages being turned by soft young hands, random ink stains from an old typewriter marking a book unique and unreplicable. Oh, wait. I have also heard that this event is not an exciting one for every single soul. Some students very passionately hate uni. We might need another example.

The fashion! So many beautiful people passing me by while I drink from a nearby fountain. The colors resemble the trees, their crowns and strong bodies. Knitted, embroidered, flannel-covered furs. Keeping the person underneath comfy and warm, while also telling a story. About the passage of time or heritage or personal choice. At the same time though, I have indeed heard a lot of complaining regarding the fall-winter attires, mainly the density of the layers.

Your world is way too complicated sometimes. Beautiful, very much so, but entangled. There is never just one thing: a meal, a task, a kiss or a sunrise. Everything is always piled up together and it just sounds so tiring. Just as I experience your world whenever I fly through or past it, I wish I could offer you the same thing one day. Even when it seems like we are rushing, to us it feels blissful and right. Because we live with all our senses. We do not get distracted because we do not want to. The air rushing though our seemingly-feeble bodies. It reminds me of how nature supports us, always. And everything we see while flying? I cannot even begin to explain it. The sky or the sun or the clouds are magnificent no matter the angle or distance, but hugging them with open wings? It makes one feel like they are part of it all. That is the trick, I believe.

Otherwise, if you let yourself get disconnected, the essence seems far away. You start convincing yourself that you are alone, isolated. Which could not be further away from the truth. I wish from the bottom of my heart that I could take you along on this journey. A journey that feels oddly novel and exciting, even though it happens every year.  

Hold on, this is it! The most magical part about the beginning of autumn: you get to start a new journey, exactly like me! Although the location or arrival time might be unknown in your case. But let us leave those details on the back burner. Just think about it. As summer fades away, the heat misses it and follows in its footsteps. The air gets crisper and chillier and, without even realizing it, you are breathing in a fresh new start. A clean slate. Whatever you go off to do next, it will be with a softened heart, but a clear head. Which is undeniably a sensible pairing.

Do not get me wrong. I am not saying you will become a brand-new person. Actually, why would you even want that? I hope you know just how marvelous you are! Your perspective is just what needed a little dusting. And you do not have to fly to warmer lands. Maybe your adventure starts with picking up your old drawing block and a worn-out pencil you used to love. Or with applying to that job you (wrongly) believe you have no chance of getting.

The beginning of fall is for trying. Trying and accepting if it does not work out. Respectively, celebrating when it eventually does. September is a month that bears fruit too and I heard they also make delicious juice out of it!

Honestly, everything I have been speaking of, I do not truly know. Once the trees start shattering their green crowns, we leave. Nonetheless, if birds are good at something, it is gossip. I define that controversial term in a friendlier way: whenever you talk about someone who is not there, it is gossip. So I do gossip when I exchange life stories with my feathery mates. I tell them of endless summers and late sunsets, while they rhapsodize about the color changes and breezy mornings. I gain only theoretical knowledge, but it feels just like a dream I have lived myself. That’s why I consider myself an imaginary master of the seasons.

Indeed, my earth-bound friends, I see autumn as a beginning. For myself, as well as for you all. I can only hope you choose to begin something beautiful. And just as nature does, do it slowly. One of the wisest sayings I have heard during my travels was that nature never rushes, yet it gets everything done. All the leaves are turned, all the fruits ripe. You too can tend to all your leaves and fruits, without causing your heart to race or your forehead to dwell on sweaty tears. While the temperature might drop a little bit, but that is no reason to get upset. Nature enjoys it, even craves it. And you are built of the same star stuff as the flowers you stop to smell. If the weather cools down, it means you were in need of it. A change, a breeze to make you feel more awake. The heat will come again, after the sun has done its beloved lap. The grass will be green indeed and the birds will come back. I can promise you that. Until then, be in awe of everything that is changing so softly, yet so determined all around you. Learn from it. Then go on and start your own journey.