Summer 2012

The first day of summer on the Chinese calendar this year was May 4. Summer's element is Fire. The color of the Fire element is red, its organs are the Heart and Small Intestine, its flavor is bitter (scorched) and its emotion is joy (whose negative aspect is anxiety). I am late with this brief posting, because after years of anxiety caused by being sucked dry by property I couldn't afford, I sold my house a month ago. Having unloaded a seductive but stagnant pile of steaming earth, my heart is slowly re-filling with joy. New anxieties will probably come to replace the old, but for now I am relaxing into the early summer here in central PA. I believe I'll set up the hammock tonight. I encourage you to do the same. Burn your obligations; become weightless. So what if it doesn't last? Nothing lasts. Enjoy it while it's here, is the lesson of Summer.