As soon as September, October, and November roll past, we’ll be in December, and finally, next year. This is what it means to be in the fourth quarter, the final chance to meet financial goals for corporations. But what does it mean for you and me, as people?
The autumnal equinox falls on September 23rd in the northern hemisphere. Winter solstice is December 21st. The earth continues to rotate, despite our best attempts to stand still.
I am eagerly awaiting the Bay Area’s second summer. I toy with alternative phrases to “indian summer”, which people really shouldn’t say as much as they do. I hold phrases in my mouth and tongue them like I would a summer peach. Little summer? Late summer? Just plain summer? Perhaps “second summer” is my favorite. If we’re lucky, we get two brief summers each year—one around July/August, and a second one around October.
Lately, a vision that inspires me is that of a leisurely swim. On a day with no plans, with the freedom to dip in the cool waters, seeking respite from the sun. To rotate between weightlessness in the water and heavy-bodied-ness on the poolside chairs. To drip water slowly in a pool of your own making, until every last drop is dry, and your skin is almost scorched. At that point, you re-enter the cool blue waters and start the process again.
In Iceland, I felt this same feeling at the local baths. By switching between the ice bath and the hottest temperature (I believe it went up to 41º C) over and over, eventually I felt the crisp freezing air affected me less. And this change, this invisible armor to my skin and my nerves, was semi-permanent.
Reflecting on how busy I’ve been lately, and how little time I’ve had to do nothing, I feel that I am long overdue for another temperature adjustment day. Ideally there is a cool breeze to serve as your ice bath as you emerge from a hot tub.
Perhaps the break between San Francisco’s two summers is the perfect time. Perhaps I don’t have to travel to get that same feeling of relaxation. Perhaps this ritual, something I stumbled upon in my youth at the neighborhood pool in San Jose, is something core to the balance of my life. Something I had forgotten.
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