Klamath Writers' Guild

October with its bright, blue weather is also the month that bids summer farewell for another season. Jack Frost has turned the green foliage to gold and orange, almost as an apology for preparing the plants for the on-coming winter months. I suppose we all feel a bit of remorse to bid summer good-bye. However, learning to bid many things good-bye that we once cherished is all part of maturing.

A sultan wanted an immortal inscription written on his tombstone, or so the story goes – something that would outlast the ravages of time. His wise men finally settled upon this statement: “Even this too shall pass away.” My doctor told me a similar thing when I asked what guarantee I had that this surgery would cure my problem. His answer was, “There are no guarantees in medicine.”

I suppose there are no guarantees in life except those proposed by Ben Franklin – death and taxes. I have painted a dismal picture of October which only leads to further depression. That may be certain, for November is a cold, rainy month that leads into December and then January and to the real cold weather. Yes, it does and there is nothing we can do about it. However, we can do something for ourselves.

When we reach the October of our years, most of us have learned to live one day at a time. The summer salad days of our lives are past and we must learn to make the most of the limited time we have left. We will never experience the youthful days of our twenties and thirties. We may have spent them frivolously, believing that we will never grow old. Well, we did, just as did our parents and grand parents and as did the little boy who lived in the lane.

I gave a sermon one time called “That all-important Dash.” Our tombstones are usually marked with two dates, one the year we were born, followed by a dash, then the year we passed away. The dash represents all the years we lived. We came into the world from we know not where and we leave to a similar place. All the world will remember us by is what we give to it during our lifetime. Note that I did not say how much wealth we accumulated or feats we achieved, rather by what we gave back to the world. Our gifts may only be kind deeds or helping hands. Other gifts, made particularly by the wealthy, may be charitable contributions or trust funds. Regardless of our accumulations, we must give it all back, for we leave this world in the same manner as we came in to it.

With this in mind, the only laurels we receive are those where we do something good to others. This is why our walking the second mile with those who demand that we walk a mile with them works wonders. It is the first step to develop friendship.

October is really a beautiful month, but its beauty emerges only when we decide to give the world a little extra and we open our eyes to its natural beauty. Take it one day at a time. Until later, cheers!