However, my personal experience has been somewhat difference. I am not sure it is because of the practice or if it is because I am a school teacher, but I tend to find a certain energy in the end of summer. It is a sort of determination that carries a deep intention to improve on past weaknesses.
I have face many school years as both a student and a teacher, and although there have been a number of months, semesters and years I might rather forget, the hope of the Autumn remains unblemished.
From the perspective of Zen, Autumn is a time to turn inward. This has nothing to do with shunning the world, but more with increasing the focus on the inward eye. Zazen can happen at anytime or any place, but the cooling of the days has a way of providing more opportunities.
Soon, the Fall Ango will be upon us and we will be asked how we will amplify or expand our practice. Such a decision is worthy of our attention now. Intention tempered by reflection over time is a power thing. Not powerful like a hurricane, but like a river that runs fast and deep in search of a great ocean that it already touches.
The end of summer deserves its share of melancholy, but only as far as it is the result of a settling of activity.
