DUKES
FANS:
We
are moving into the last quarter of the year now, and all around us
there are signs that the cycle we inhabit is inexorably moving
onward. There are changes literally in the air, and we respond to
them as humans have always had to do. It is cooler now, so we think
about whether we need a long sleeved shirt and whether wearing those
shorts is still a good idea. The flashing and blinking yellow lights
remind us of school zones as we drive to and from work and the fact
that kids are back to school. Our department stores are having “End
of Summer” clearance sales, football is back, it will be a new TV
season, and newspapers are now previewing the fall movies and theater
seasons. Car commercials are advertising “End of the Year” sales
on this year's models. Humans are changing their lives in line with
the seasons.
On my morning walks I
have noticed the cycle's changes as well. A lot of the flowers that
so brightened up lawns and gardens a few short weeks ago are now
looking a little bedraggled and done in. The wonderful sunflower
thicket alongside my neighbor's house has dulled, and she has trimmed
and cut it way back. The bright yellow and dark black on the
goldfinches that are still zooming around the sunflowers have lost a
lot of their luster as well, and their coloration is starting to
change. Window boxes have flowers and plants that are starting to
bend over, and the color has drained from some of them. Lawns are
less vibrant, and if I look carefully, I can see that the tips of
some of the trees in the neighborhood are starting change to a burnt
orange. And most remarkably, the morning light seems to have taken
on a new suddenness in its daily arrival. I normally start my walks
about 5:45 or 6 AM, and night is still there. The moon is clearly
visible on some days, stars are out, and there is that wonderful and
magical sense of the mystery of darkness as I start my walk.
Gradually, very gradually, the sky proceeds to lighten up so that by
6:45 or 7 the sun is clearly out and a new day is most obviously
here. Now, however, that process is changing. At around 6:00 it is
still dark and the sense of night is there. But by 6:40 the day has
dramatically broken through-its appearance seems sudden and urgent.
Most days it is bright by then, and there is shimmering sunlight
reflecting off the cars, roofs and drainpipes of my street by the tie
I finish my work. It was last week when I noticed that happening, and
it struck me as quietly dramatic. It seemed as if the sun
was bursting forth as if to announce that we weren't going to have it
at full strength for much longer, and we had better notice it and
make full use of it while we can. And I know-that is my take on
these happenings; the solar system doesn't much care about what we do
or don't make of what it does. But that thought did give me a new
appreciation for the holidays and observances that start arriving at
this time of the year and the rituals we have evolved to mark the
ways of the cycle. Many religions- Judaism, Hindu, Islam, Orthodox
Christian, Catholicism, Jainism, and more-have holy days and rituals
during this month as humans world-wide work to accept and integrate
their lives and existence with the cycle. And the changing of the
light is, to me, one of the important reminders that we have to do
that, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. For we are part
of that endless cycle too, and for years our very survival depended
on acknowledging that fact.
So I will watch as the
visible sunlight comes at different times this month as we move
closer to and beyond the autumn equinox. (And I will watch as night
comes earlier and earlier, too). It is a wonderful thing to notice,
and I am glad that I have the time and opportunity to be aware of it.
When I retired I knew morning walking was going to be a part of my
routine. And I am still awakening to all the wonderful gifts it is
giving me.
We
have a new website, and we would love you to visit it, give us some
feedback, and pass news about it on to other folks. The site has
videos, photos, gigs and more. http://www.dukesofdestiny.com/
is
the site. Check it out and let us know what you think
YouTube
We
have posted a few videos on YouTube. Please log in, view our videos,
and leave a comment or two. Tell your friends to view us and post
comments as well. Thanks:
Just
a Little Bit https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=d8iFNlDPM_c
Higher
Ground https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=baSmjnQFvXg
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Dukes
CD's:
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recent CD, "Higher" at any gig and at these select
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