There is a particular feeling that arrives near the end of August. You notice it almost without realizing it.
The mornings are cooler, but the sun still warms the afternoon. The garden is still green. There are still plenty of good days ahead. The evenings arrive a little earlier. The calendar has fewer empty squares than it did a few weeks ago. Today I blink my eyes and it's August 28th!
Time passes.
I’ve always liked Al Stewart’s Time Passages. There is something about that song that captures the strange feeling of watching time move forward while life around you continues almost exactly as it always has. You can be sitting beside a lake, standing on an airport ramp, or simply enjoying a quiet evening at home—and suddenly realize that another summer is becoming a memory.
For those of us who fly, there is perhaps an added appreciation for the passage of time.
Aviation is full of clocks. Departure times. Arrival times. Duty periods. Block times. Estimated times of arrival. Connections. Schedules. We spend a lot of our working lives watching the clock. And yet, some of the best moments in aviation seem to exist completely outside of it.
A quiet morning before the first flight.
The smell of aviation fuel on a warm summer ramp.
Watching the sun come up above the clouds.
Flying over a landscape that looks completely different from 38,000 feet.
Those are the moments when time seems to slow down.
Perhaps that is one of the reasons I enjoy traditional shaving. There is no real need to hurry.You run the water. Prepare the brush. Build a lather. Take a moment to enjoy the scent. Then, slowly and deliberately, you begin.
It is a remarkably simple ritual in a world that seems determined to make everything faster.
There are certainly quicker ways to shave. There are quicker ways to do just about everything. But perhaps faster isn't always better.
A traditional shave asks you to stop for a few minutes. To pay attention.
To enjoy the scent of a well-made soap, the feel of a good brush, the sound of the razor moving across your face. And when you are finished, the reward isn't simply a clean shave. It is the feeling that, for a few minutes, you weren't rushing toward the next thing.
You were simply there.
That idea has always been part of what I wanted Stone Field Shaving Co. to be about.
Not just shaving products, but small pieces of craftsmanship and ritual. Products made by people who care about what they are creating. Soaps, brushes, bowls and accessories that encourage you to slow down and appreciate something as ordinary as getting ready for the day. There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about that. And perhaps that's appropriate at the end of summer.
Summer itself is a reminder that nothing stays still. The first warm day of spring seems like it happened yesterday. Then suddenly I'm talking about the end of August.
Almost without warning, the sun begins disappearing over the horizon a little earlier.
The days are still warm, but you know what's coming.
Fall.
Another season.
Another page turning.
As I write this, I'm reminded that there is a temptation to look ahead. We do it all the time. What's next? What's coming? What do I need to get done? Aviation certainly encourages that mindset. What's the next flight? What's the next trip? What's the next destination?
But perhaps the end of summer is a good reminder to occasionally look around instead.
Enjoy the evening that is happening now.
Take the long way home.
Sit outside for another ten minutes.
Or tomorrow morning, take a little extra time with your shave.
Build the lather.
Enjoy the scent.
Don't rush.
Because eventually, this summer will be one of those summers we talk about in the past tense. And that's okay- that's the nature of time.
It passes.
But perhaps the real trick isn't trying to stop it.
It's making sure we're present enough to notice it while it does.
So, before summer disappears completely, I'm going to try to enjoy a few more of those fleeting moments. A few more warm evenings. A few more quiet mornings. And, of course, a few more good shaves.
After all, there will always be another departure, another arrival, another season.
But this particular summer?
We only get it once.
Time passes.
So enjoy the view while you have it.
— Jonathan
Stone Field Shaving Co.
Leave a comment