By Tony Mazur
In our existence, we've heard the saying "Life is short". What that means is that we should enjoy our lives and not take anything for granted. But in our fast-paced society, we lose track of that age-old adage.
Each year in the waning days of August, I sit back and think about anything and everything. Traditionally, I spent the month of August soaking up as much of life as I can. We can all relate to this since we all went to school at any level. June slips through out fingers like sand on a beach. July has a similar effect. Once August rolls around, you wonder where time went.
I am currently out of school, attempting to further my career in the broadcasting industry. But this period of time is still tough on me. Even though I'm not in school, I still have friends sprinkled throughout various colleges across the United States.
I can recall a conversation I had with a friend of mine a few days ago. All summer we promised each other that we'll hang out eventually. It didn't happen, and we apologized to each other for not setting up a set date. She leaves today and won't be home until either Thanksgiving or Christmas.
We were so wrapped up with our own frivolous lives that we couldn't even take a few hours out of our night to hang out.
And I'm not just talking about school. It seems as if everything changes once September rolls around.
Right around this time in the Gregorian calendar, our climate constantly changes. It's as if Mother Nature has multiple personalities. One day it's in the 40s, the next day it's 75 degrees and sunny.
It really is a depressing time, if you think about it. All that work you put into making your yard look splendid will turn brambly and unkempt. All that work bringing boxes of tank tops and shorts down from the attic will seem ludicrous once the temperature drops.
We really don't appreciate things until they are either gone or close to leaving. Cleveland fans can remember back in 1995 when Art Modell announced that the Browns were headed to Baltimore the next year. We all loved the Browns, but we all thought that they would remain in Cleveland forever.
If it weren't for football season, we'd all be depressed.
If I can give any advise to those who feel the same way that I do, I'd sum it up with a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
So if you have friends or family in town for a short period of time, don't wait until they have to leave before you see them. If the weather is nice, go outside and enjoy the beautiful day. Then as we say our goodbyes, we'll know that we took advantage of our own destiny. I believe we'll all live much happier.
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1 comment:
What a great piece, Tony.
I've been out of school for more than a few years, but I still find myself looking at the calendar through that prism in terms of really not liking August that much even though I am not returning to school in the fall. I remember telling a friend recently that I really don't like February (especially in Cleveland -- the exhaustion with winter really sets in) and August (with the generally horrid heat/humidity and regrets about how much more I did not do with my summer). I'm the type of person that no matter how much I do, I'm always regretting that I wanted to do and experience more, so the end of summer is always tough for me. Maybe that makes a good corollary to your point: try to do more and put less off for later but also try to take more enjoyment from what you do.
--Rick
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