September signals a restart, but of what? Traditionally Labor Day Weekend marks the close of the summer season even though the Autumnal Equinox isn’t until Wednesday, September 22nd. And, sigh, 2021 is a September shrouded by ambiguity. In many places, starting as early as mid-August, students were back on playing fields and campuses, dorm rooms and classes. Yet the dark cloud of question continues to loom with rampant indecision about masks, distancing, vaccinations, boosters and the ever popular – hybrid or not. Ridiculously, tempers flare and threats of violence are aimed at good people trying to make tough decisions. Parents worry about their babies under 12 for whom there is not yet a vaccine (soon, we hear) and about their preteens and teens doing their best to go about adolescence as usual. It’s all so edgy.
We thought last September would be a one-off with respect to Covid even though we were warned about something casually floated as the “new normal.” Businesses that planned onsite staffing from now through October, are putting on the brakes. Back to a discussion of hybrid? At best, I think. Maybe back to the big V (virtual).
On a positive and unequivocally stimulating note, there’s that kind of excitement or fluttering, when something new is about to happen. One feels a bit like coiled spring about to let loose. 
I noticed this today when I took Sophie for a woods outing and laughed out loud as she tore around in zoomies – over a bridge, into a brook, up a rock, back in the brook, back through a field of goldenrod and milkweed, and over the bridge again and again. Was it sheer joy or has she been bursting at the seams to just buzz? Anyway, it’s what I call my “anticipatory feeling.” Well, there’s that feeling, part intuitive and part reactive, that is the spirit of September. Warm weather teases us to believe there is yet more summer and maybe we can relax; and, then the cooler nights and breezy days inform us that it is well time to pick ourselves up and get organized, restart our sleepy creativity, and begin to use some of the regenerative mental and physical energy that we certainly hope has been nurtured within us.
One of my summer reads was WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE, by Oprah Winfrey (2014). It’s been on my shelf for many years but recently the time was right to have at it. I love her quote on the back cover: “I know for sure: Your journey begins with a choice to get up, step out, and live fully.” Works well with all that September represents, don’t you think?
Do you remember, as a child, the thrill of shopping for school supplies? May I tell you that I still adore my paper notebooks and journals and colored pens? (not opposed to a sticker or two, either!) I know I am not alone as I hear from friends and colleagues about the search for the perfect journal or the delicious feel of particular writing pages. Ha! There is still room in today’s digital monopoly for some brain enhancing tactile writing and reading. I love that my mother, also addicted to charming notepads, would tell me that each new morning was like turning to a clean page on which no one had yet written. It was my privilege to do the writing. What would I do with my day? Sweet, eh?
September might well be the kickstart or restart of professional or personal structure. Perhaps we reframe each day to include dedicated blocks of time for healthy habits, a resumption of fitness hours and attention to nutritional benefits. Furthermore, in the reframing of time, perhaps there is also a reframing of motivation, gratitude and respect for the bodies and minds we exercise and fuel.
September is clearly a transitional period between the common concept of summer and the back-to-school mentality of early fall. Gradually the layering begins: clothing, responsibilities, new jobs, and balancing hectic schedules. 
The obvious seasonal reminder of shorter days and longer evenings mandates yet another segue into the fall months. There’s no fighting it. Until December 21, darkness will increase and the need to adapt is part survival, or seen from an attitude of positivity, part curiosity.
My go-to resource for dealing with stress, or helping others to do so, is Dr. Rangan Chatterjee’s THE STRESS SOLUTION (2018). This little book is packed with meaningful tips and discourses on the many aspects of stress and ways to work with this thing that has gained prominence in recent years, bolstered by Covid, and apparently a part of daily life for most, if not all. One piece of advice resonates with the idea of September as being a time to regroup and move forward. Dr. Chatterjee encourages the reader to L.I.V.E.
L = LOVE. As we move forward, yes, to love ourselves and others, to both give and receive love. However, more importantly for our purposes here, he challenges us to LOVE what we are doing!
I = INTENTION. As we restart, regroup and reframe the weeks and months to come, let us do so with intention. To be certain of our intention and then to apply our thought and action to that intentional purpose, is to move forward cleanly without waste or wandering.
V = VISION. Oh my, vision is a profound word that runs the gamut from looking and truly seeing all the way to one’s mental, emotional and spiritual vision for individual and universal future possibilities.
E = ENGAGEMENT. Finally we are urged to engage in life itself – from present moments to chance meetings to thoughtful yet bold actions.
Returning to Oprah, let me share a quote of Goethe’s: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it;/Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” Oprah follows this with: “Make a decision and watch your life move forward.”
Bottom line? It is September. “Make a decision and watch your life move forward.”