[Seasons: Summer VI]
Winter holidays are known as the season of giving, but I think that is a mass marketing effort. I mean, sure, gifts are wonderful and the holiday cheer begets a spirit of generosity, but winter, as a season, is not known for giving. Everything in nature has one goal: self-preservation. Winter is the season of justified "selfishness”.
Summer, on the other hand, is the real season of giving, if we take nature as our cue. The flowers give to the bees (and the bees give me “liquid sunshine” in the form of honey). The sun gives generously to the grass and the ferns and the algae in the pond. The chickens give an abundance of eggs. The coniferous trees grow excessive amounts of cones and needles to give to the forest duff.
Summer is the season of giving because it’s the season of abundance.
But abundance is not measured by how much we stockpile (even if we give some of it away when convenient for us) but how much is available to others when they are in need. We get this backwards. We measure abundance by how much *I* can get my hands on, accumulate, and save.
Abundance requires a spirit of generosity that insists on everyone having access. Always. Summer is a beautiful model in this regard. Winter holidays, not so much.
