August sits on a threshold. Not quite summer, not yet autumn. The evenings cool, the light shifts, and the air carries a sense of change approaching. It’s a month of almosts, a reminder that life is often lived not in the clear beginnings or endings, but in the long stretch of “in‑between.”

This space can be uncomfortable. It asks something of us. The truth is, the real work happens here—before the goal, before the harvest, before the breakthrough. And that work is hard. It takes determination to keep showing up when progress feels slow. It takes resilience to weather the setbacks that inevitably come. Growth isn’t a straight line; it rises and falls, expands and contracts, just like the seasons themselves.

But it’s in this uneven, messy middle that the magic happens. Muscles are built in the repetition of training, not just on race day. Healing takes shape in the small, difficult conversations long before peace is felt. Seeds deepen their roots in the soil before they ever break into the light.  In Portsmouth, here by the sea, I notice the changes taking place. The colours in nature, the temperature of the sea and the number of runners out in the early morning sunshine; all part of the flow towards another state, another way of being.

August can remind us that struggle is not failure—it’s part of the process. The up‑and‑down rhythm is what makes us stronger, more alive, more capable of meeting what lies ahead. Just as autumn’s richness depends on summer’s quiet preparation, our future growth depends on what we are willing to endure and nurture now.  Working to improve your mental health, your relationships or to feel a renewed sense of joy after a loss, all these can be achieved with time and a little grit.

So if you find yourself in the in‑between, take courage. This is not wasted time. This is where resilience is forged, where transformation gathers strength, where the unseen work becomes the foundation for change. This is where the magic lives.  Do get in touch to see how we could work together, to explore and to discover.  Love Abi x