It’s September. In fact, it’s getting on to the middle of September. Soon summer will be over. When I was a boy that was a cause for regret. But then, that regret probably had more to do with the beginning of school than the end of summer and that unfortunate happening occurred around the first of September rather than the twentieth.

I suppose that’s the heart of the matter. One’s attitude for or against a season has more to do with one’s perception of what that season is rather that what it is in actuality. That, in turn, is based on any number of things, past experience being one. It reminds me of the story of a boy from a southern state who was inducted into the military and sent to a northern state for training. His first letters home were poetically eloquent in describing his initial experience with snow—glistening flakes that gently descended, covering the ground with a shimmering, gleaming blanket. After a few weeks, he wrote home to inform his family that it was still snowing and there was now three feet of the damn stuff.

The coming seasons bring to my mind unpleasant days of cold and snow but I am aware that they bring their own brand of beauty and unique experiences. I may well treasure those in future times just as I now treasure happenings from past cold seasons. It is all a matter of perception for that is the way we experience and remember life.

I think that’s the key to enjoying not only seasons, but life itself. It’s not what we experience as much as how we experience it that causes us problems, and how we experience is something that is directly under our control. It’s due to our own perception, attitudes and prejudices. Let go of those preconceived notions and here is no reason to fear or look with displeasure on any season. We can enjoy them all. We can enjoy every day. Why not? That’s what they’re there for.