The official change of seasons

This weekend the world saw the biggest full moon in decades, which has sealed the change of seasons. One’s man happiness is another man’s sadness, our summer is officially over and a new season has begun in the north hemisphere as well, there comes the spring.

Spring has always been my favorite season. I was born on the first day of spring and ever since my mother used to tell me that I was a flower, so I have always made this connection between my birthdays and the flowers’ season which used to make my birthdays and the seasons even more exciting. Well, I can just say that birthdays are not that exciting any longer. Spring is always going to be very welcome in my life but the getting older part, some will say wiser, well it still does not attract me much.

Talking about attractiveness, if we were to think of the words itself, spring and fall in English, the idea of spring is much more attractive in so many ways. You don’t even have to check an etymological dictionary to agree with it, fall gives the idea of coming down, from a higher to a lower position while spring immediately brings the opposite idea, to move upward or forward. I couldn’t help but wonder, what can be so bad about fall after all?

If things can fall into place, if we start associating fall with something that doesn’t involve a dramatic falling down episode, perhaps we can get a whole new meaning to the word, to the season, to life and actually fall in love with the season and whatever it is that it will bring.

So let’s welcome fall with a spring attitude, as if it were spring, as if it were summer, so here comes the fall, and I say…

It’s alright.

The real verb to be

Because that will always be one of the main reasons why I am still here. And since the point of this blog is to trace a parallel between Brazil and the U.S, I state that we will always be behind if we do not start being polite, and that goes from using the simple 'magic' words, as kids here are taught, to having culture and education as priorities.

Kindness. If you were not born with it or taught by your folks, learn from whoever does it to you. Even if it means to get out of your little world and do something significative to other people. And the reward should be your own good feeling after. Luckily, you will deal with polite people who will be kind in return. And kindness is not charity, which we brazilians can do. It is to do things with love, for whatever reasons.

And last but not least, be grateful. It is a great way to make life more meaningful. It will pay off to show politeness by being grateful with whoever is kind to you. I assume Brazilians win on this point. So when you get here, teach them. Hopefully they will learn.