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 Equinox 

Each year, the time at the Autumnal Equinox invites me to contemplate balance. Balance between life and death – gain and loss – up and down – full and empty – joy and sorrow – light and shadow – young and old. There seems to be a hint of decay and death in the air, yet all is brimming with life. And ripening. Or is it that the light of Fall is initiating a pensive mood? The musky smell of forgotten apples on the ground. Today a dear friend’s glorious 80th Birthday Brunch full with vibrant guests, last night sad news of the lonely death of a 39-year-old Black solo performer and author. Fate & destiny. 

 

Death is great as Life, wrote Walt Whitman – painted on stone, in my garden

 

Yesterday evening, the sun is about to set as we listen to ten musicians perform a score that blends into the idyllic outdoor setting at the creek in Berkeley’s Live Oak Park. The music features sporadic horns, bird whistles, violin sighs, singing glass, falling seed pots and more. My attention though is drawn to a young boy getting his father to climb with him over the rocks, exploring the creek’s winding path. Then the mother – communicating in sign language – has to accompany him on the same route. He loudly narrates his discoveries, trudging through shallow water, his small agile body at one with the world around him, in harmony with the water's flow and melody. Above in the tree crowns, a flock of birds suddenly erupts into excited chatter. A bit further in the distance, an older man is pushing a cart overflowing with bags holding his belongings, he stops and listens for a while, then disappears, invisible. The dog barks. The last rays of muted golden sunlight find their way into the redwood grove. The music ends, applause – and yet the great music of life continues.... 

 

In one hand, mermaid holds a fish, a giant sea snail's shell in the other… 

 

We humans, now chattering, eagerly greet each other, looking for warmth and connection in the quickly fading light of dusk. Night arrives at once with her comforting darkness. The cool autumn darkness, is it a sweet promise? Or a troubling foreword, a silent question? Tonight at Equinox, suspended in the sea of cosmic balance – for a brief moment, floating in entranced stillness. 



Comments

  1. FernSeptember 28, 2023 at 7:06 PM

    Your words touch deep down in my soul and I am so grateful to read them. Always grateful for your thoughts put to words.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex KSeptember 29, 2023 at 3:14 PM

    Very beautiful. It is quite a big thought: Death is as great as Life. It's bigness both opening and very scary to me. I think you have to come to peace with change. Your relishing and noting of the things around you so beautifully so lightly soothes the fear and invites a seeing. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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