According to the words of the Yellow Emperor, whose Classic of Medicine dates from the second century BCE, summer is the season of "The hot weather, the Fire on the planet, the blood vessels, the color red, laughter and joy..."
The Heart, which houses the spirit and moves the blood, is the organ associated with the summer season; compassion and the surrender of ego are its tasks and love is its positive manifestation.
In summer, one is instructed "to be happy and easygoing and not hold grudges, so that the energy can flow freely and circulate between the external and the internal. In this way illnesses may be averted..."
-- Neijing Suwen circa 240 BCE (The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine)
Photo: Dahlia Garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
