Today is the Beginning of Autumn. It may be autumn in name, but we are still in the dog days of summer. Outside the window, cicadas sing without pause while summer heat and autumn coolness quietly begin to trade places.

立秋了，名义上是秋，其实还在三伏天里。窗外蝉声阵阵，暑热和凉意正在悄悄交替。

Inside a traditional courtyard home in Gongyi, Zhengzhou, sunlight streams through the window and falls upon the cotton and linen spread across the cutting table. The master tailor gently runs his fingers over the fabric. He says that making clothes is much like the changing of the seasons; it cannot be rushed.

走进郑州巩义一间宅院，阳光透过窗户，落在案板的棉麻布料上。老师傅的手指轻轻抚过布面，他说，做衣裳和节气是一个道理，不能急。

At this time of year, the fabric must be breathable, so the body does not feel stifled. The scissors glide along the grain of the cloth, clean and precise. This is what it means to follow the natural course of things. Just like the seasons, forcing it will upset the balance.

这时候的料子，要选透气的，不能闷着身子。剪刀顺着布纹落下，干脆利落，这叫顺势，跟节气一样，硬拧着就失了分寸。

For clothes worn at this time of year, the stitches should be spaced a little farther apart, leaving room for the breeze to pass through. After White Dew, when the weather truly turns cool, the stitching can be made denser.

这时节的衣裳，针眼要疏一些，留给风穿过，等白露过后天真正凉了，再换成密实的针法。

The sewing machine rattles rhythmically, forming rows of even, closely set stitches. The master says that every stitch must be made with care: too fast, and it may go crooked; too slow, and it may not hold firmly enough. Life is much the same. Only by moving at an unhurried, steady pace can we go far.

缝纫机哒哒作响，针脚均匀绵密。师傅说，每一针都要心里有数，快了容易歪，慢了不够紧。就像过日子，不疾不徐，才能走得长远。

Steam rises slowly as the iron glides over the fabric, gently smoothing out fold after fold. The trivial worries that linger in the heart are also gradually smoothed away, like wrinkles in the cloth.

蒸汽缓缓升起，熨斗抚过布料，层层褶皱慢慢舒展，那些萦绕心头的琐碎纷扰，也如同褶皱被慢慢抚平。

Many things in life cannot be rushed, nor can they be avoided. May you move through life calmly and unhurriedly, following your own rhythm and unfolding each day with ease and light.

人生许多事，急不来，也躲不掉。愿你不慌不忙，在自己的节奏里，把日子过得舒展而明亮。

​（来源：wherezhengzhou）