There’s a certain sense of melancholy that abounds this time of year, as if we’re collectively overcome with mourning. But mourning what, exactly?

It can’t merely be the warmer temperatures and longer days; most of us are too well-versed in seasonal climates to have such an adverse reaction to a regular and anticipated shift as this.

No, it’s something more than the weather.

There is the sense that with the end of summer comes the end of our season of freedom.

Routines recommence, trips out of town subside, and it seems like it’s back to school for all of us–young and old alike–in the most dreaded sense of the term.

Here is the truth:

You are just as free as you decide to be.

You are the master of your heart, your home, and your calendar; as you were in spring and summer, so will you be in autumn, and so, too, in winter.

There is no one season of freedom. The uninitiated might mistakenly believe there to be one, but not you.

You know that fun and freedom and opportunities for relaxation, adventure, and genuine human connection abound at all times of the year, and in every moment of our lives.