Summer ended today, with one final hurrah, warm temps, bright sun, crystal blue skies…all to give way to chillier temperatures, and the true onset of autumn. Sure, we’ll have days in the upper 60s (F), but Old Man Winter is going to be knocking soon … and he will not be denied.

As the seasons turn, it’s bringing on a bounty of apples, of winter fruits, and, as the song goes, summer wine (it takes time to ferment, obviously), the wind begins to howl as the leaves change their colours, and frost claims the last of the garden goodness. So goes the “circle of life.” We, as individuals, are born in the springtime, mature in the summer, age in the autumn of our years, and pass on in the winter.

The thing I’m grateful for with all this change is that the cooler nights have set the rose bushes to blooming their little hearts out one final time before going dormant for the season.

Do you find yourself looking at the little things and finding joy? As a friend of mine told me today, “Don’t cry because someone died. Smile, because you were a part of their life.”

Take time to scope out recipes that make you smile. Try new ingredients. Don’t be afraid to fumble in the kitchen. Some of the greatest recipe creations were discovered by improvising, or even by a dish that didn’t turn out just right. Remember — never, ever give up — especially on yourself.

Another friend of mine is going through a rough patch, having left her husband, heading for a divorce. To make matters even rougher for her, she is attempting to reconcile her religious beliefs with the necessity of the divorce. As I attempted to explain to her… if she has done her best, she need fear nothing. But by staying in an unhealthy relationship, she need fear everything.

Life isn’t black and white. It’s infinite shades of grey. And somewhere, mixed in it all, are the bright colours of the rainbow. Find yours. Celebrate life, love and happiness. Every day.

“We never talked forever… we were in love and through it all… our hearts would sing everytime they’d ring the ancient bells of St. Paul’s…” (Linda Eder)

In what seems like a completely different lifetime, I used to sing… not for money, but in front of an audience. One of my favourite tunes was called “A Season In Your Path.”

I was touched by a phrase I once read that said “People come into your life for a moment, a reason, or a season.” Nothing lasts forever — the thing that matters is what we do with the time that we have been allotted. Make a positive difference. Learn to build up instead of tear down. Be a catalyst for improvement.

It’s on days like today, when it was chill, the wind was whipping the leaves off the trees and blowing them down to oblivion, when I came to realize exactly what my grandmother, whom I lost last month, meant when she said that “the older you grow, the faster time goes. There is no holding back the hands of time.” She was a wise woman, on in her 85 3/4 journeys through the calendar, she saw many emotions — from elation to heartbreak. She was the kind of sturdy stock, however, that always gave thanks — even when someone she loved died. She didn’t give thanks because they passed on, she gave thanks for the time she had with them. Her… season in their path.

Let someone who’s in your “season” know how much you care about them. Better yet, let your actions magnify and amplify your true heart’s voice.

A cold, damp, miserable day around the house. Still, It is beyond the middle of October, so it’s only fitting that Autumn starts to show its true colours.

Time to break out the soup recipes. Time to break out flat breat. Time to break out the baked goods.

Time to stop and give thanks for all that life has to give. Remember when I said that Thanksgiving wasn’t just limited to a day in October for Canadians and a day in November for Americans? This is what I meant. There should always be something that makes you stop, pause, reflect, smile, and be grateful every day. As a dear friend of mine gave me this quote the other day because she says it reminds her of me and the relationship I’m in: “I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I’m with you.”

You see, in my mind, people put too much pressure on finding “the one” because they’re sure they won’t be ‘complete’ without a certain someone to love. But no one can complete you. A person may complement who you are, but that’s as far as it can go. Take a moment and be thankful for being who you are. Love starts inside of you.

(It’s also the only thing in life that you have more of, the more you give away.)