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Hello Friends!
I hope you are safe and well.
In our part of the world, just outside of Montreal, we are feeling the lift of burgeoning Spring. Snow still covers the ground - feet deep - but it's melting fast.
There are bulbs under the earth beneath our kitchen window that will soon awaken, if the squirrels were generous in the fall and did not eat them all!
The lushness of natural life is returning, even though many of we poor humans feel deeply diminished by 12 long months of a pandemic. Several of my friends are facing newly diagnosed forms of cancer. Another died from the complications
of COVID19. From many phone conversations, I know that the troubling effects of too much loneliness are rampant.
Still.... it's wonderful to feel the Spring awakening. Perhaps (I hope...), where ever you may be right now, you are feeling some sense of renewal, too. Soon-ish we'll be in bloom again.
Rainer Maria Rilke -
Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colours, there would be an unbelievable shrieking
into the heart of the night.
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BOOKS!
I wonder if you have been reading? Books have been a treasure for me over the past months; a meaningful, sometimes exhilarating escape...
These days, I listen to books (Audible on Amazon) rather than read them. After a long day in front of the computer or looking at music, my eyes argue about looking at more squiggles on a page. But
listening to a well-read book can be awe-inspiring!
Three suggestions:
1. The Signature of All things by Elizabeth Gilbert, narrated with enormous creativity & skill by Juliet Stevenson. I'm listening to this book now. Fabulous!
2. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell and read by the author.
Gladwell argues that the tools we use to make sense of people are faulty. And because we don’t know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding. This book gave me a lot of food for thought.
3. The Outlander - by Diana Gabaldon, narrated by the very gifted actress, Davina Porter. Again, a breathtaking narration & richly-told, if somewhat fantastical story.
WRITING ABOUT MUSIC
I have been writing a monthly article for the online magazine, Sixty & Me. Each of these articles was a joy for me to prepare. Perhaps you would enjoy one!
One way to wake up your life!
My beginner's singing course (for those who are over 40!) called, Wake Up Your Life With Singing! is on track for a Spring launch. If you or someone you know has dreamed about singing"one day;" this is a pain-free way to give it a
try. Click the link to learn more.
And finally...
TRY IT OUT!
I welcome you to subscribe to my free Channel on Youtube.
You will find many short videos that give you bite-sized pieces of singing support: exercises, songs, health-oriented info. It's an evolving project from my heart. Singing After 40 on Youtube.
I HOPE TO SEE YOU!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this newsletter. I send it to you with a great hope that I will see some of you in person in the coming months. What a thought! Or at the very least,"in-virtual" on the web.
My best,
Barbara
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