As I watch the sun set earlier each evening, aware of the seasonal transition that is to come, I find myself holding tight to these last weeks of summer. To help coax myself through this time of apprehension and change, I turn my attention to nature. Here are my suggestions for savoring this warm-weather season:

• Go outside in your pajamas first-thing in the morning to greet the natural world: the flowers in bloom, their stamen adorned with bees collecting the last bits of pollen to nourish the queen; myriad butterflies sipping sweet nectar; the birds twittering, especially the yellow finches that flutter from purple cone flowers to sunflowers in the garden where dewey spider webs glisten in the morning light. And marvel. Just allow yourself to marvel at the delicate artwork cast by these tiniest of creatures.

• Repeat at night. Listen to the cacophony of crickets, cicadas, and tree frogs, and maybe catch the occasional hoot of an owl. Close your eyes. Observe this communing of animals and insects. And when you open your eyes again, look up at the sky and see the stars and the moon, ever-shifting through its own phases of darkness and light.   

• Continue to tune in to nature all throughout your day. Take a walk through your neighborhood or the park; step outside and take ten deep breaths of fresh air, feeling the sunlight warm on your skin; smell fresh flowers or herbs or the aroma of newly clipped grass; and listen to the wild world that exists all around you.

• When you finally retire for the evening, invite nature in. Open your windows wide, close your eyes, and settle in for sweet dreams and a childlike anticipation of doing it all over again tomorrow.

Isn't it amazing—and humbling—to know that we, like the animals and insects, the moon and the stars  are all part of this dynamic dance of existence? Don't allow the drudgery of life to close you off even to the smallest of miracles that surround you. Instead, open yourself and your heart to the world, and see what happens.