'Tis the Season

I enjoyed reading all the FB posts yesterday and today about what people are thankful for, and of course, I have my list as well – but it got me musing about the whole idea of having a single day out of the year to express that thankfulness. Thinking about what I am thankful for should be a daily practice rather than an annual one. And come to think of it, the whole holiday season is supposed to be one of being “jolly” and “merry” and “happy…”

I get that in early days, with the shortened winter days, and the cold and bad weather in much of the northern hemisphere, there is a need to try to keep spirits up. Thus, the tradition of lights on evergreen trees. I wrote a short poem years ago, that turned into an intro verse that my sister and I recorded along with Greensleeves (a.k.a. What Child is This) on a winter-themed CD we did with another harp duo. Here are the words for this single verse:

Even in the bleakest winter’s numb

The evergreen’s deep color of survival

Renews our faith that spring will surely come

And gives us strength to wait for her arrival…

I’d like to offer a gift of a download of this tune. The link will put you on my mailing list, which would mean you won't have to miss any of these blogs. You'll also be able to choose what kinds of emails you'll get from me. Here is a link to the download:

https://tinyurl.com/TheEvergreenGreensleeves

The song is not on Spotify or any other online service, but it is also on the CD “On a Snowy Eve” which can be purchased in the old-fashioned manner as a CD from my website. Here is a link to my website for the CD!

https://verlene.com/snowyeve.html

So yes, there is a need to look forward when we are going through the darkest moments whether it’s winter’s shortened days, or difficult times with health, relationships, finances, or anything else that makes us numb. How else do we cope?

I always write up a list of accomplishments and goals at the end of December as my way of both looking back and looking forward. I start by reading last year’s goals. I notice that I don’t always reach all of the goals I listed, but I have instead had several accomplishments that were not on the list.  

It’s a way to annually take into account what is working and what isn’t, what is important and what isn’t. So, in a way I hibernate into this place of looking deep within so that I can start anew – not making promises but setting goals that may or may not be as important in a few months. But it is a way to move forward. I intend to add “think of something to be thankful of each day of the year.” And that’s a goal I hope to add as an accomplishment next year…

Another song I wrote that you can hear on Spotify (or why not also consider buying the CD?) is called Persephone’s Art. The story of Persephone is from Greek Mythology. Here's a brief synopsis: 

Persephone goes into the underworld and eats 6 pomegranate seeds. She is then constrained to the underworld. Her mother Demeter goes looking for her and finding her trapped in the underworld, makes a deal with the gods to allow her to come back to live with her for 6 months of each year, one month for each pomegranate seed she ate.  So Persephone lives an annual cycle of fall and winter in the underworld, and spring and summer with Demeter tending to the garden. 

Some people think of this story as a negative, a compromise, or a "deal with the devil." I see it as positive. Nature is cyclic, we are cyclic. 

Here is a link to the song on Spotify:

https://tinyurl.com/spotifyPersephone

And here are the lyrics:

When Demeter and Persephone part
It isn't the end, it's only the start
Walk the perimeter then descend to the heart
Then return again, that's Persephone's art

Down, down, deep into the darkness
Mother weeps her crystalline tears
Daughter keeps her pomegranate promise
Now go to sleep and settle your fears

When Demeter and Persephone part
It isn't the end, it's only the start
Walk the perimeter then descend to the heart
Then return again, that's Persephone's art

Down, down, deep into the dark soil
Plant the seed in the warm womb of earth
You can reap the harvest of your hard toil
Such is the creed of death and rebirth

When Demeter and Persephone part
It isn't the end, it's only the start
Walk the perimeter then return to the start
Then return again, that's Persephone's art

Look, your daughter is dancing with her demons
Look, your mother has let her garden die
Look, the Lady is spinning with the seasons
Look inside if you wanna know why

When Demeter and Persephone part
It isn't the end, it's only the start
Walk the perimeter then descend to the heart
Then return again, that's Persephone's art

 And if you’d like the CD, you can find it here:

https://verlene.com/persephone.html

So, what am I most thankful for at this moment? Here’s my list:

My good health

My family and friends

My musical endeavors:

• Playing harp at the Stanford Hospital Cancer Center again after 2 and a half years
• Playing for so many years and still going strong with Silverwood (that’s the duo with my sister that you will hear on the downloaded song)
• Playing with Gaelic Muses, which I joined in January
• Teaching private students and all who have attended my online workshops (I’m taking the month of December off from the online workshops and will be back in January – look for the announcement of the class offerings at the end of December!)

And so much more!

Rested up and ready to face the holidays!

Those who read my last blog post about Business/Busy-ness will know that I took a 7-day vacation to Arizona last week. To be able to commune with nature, hike, see new sights, visit the Musical Instrument Museum and become inspired by all of it has been restorative and healing in many ways.

The season we are already moving into can be stressful to those who face travel to visit family, overbooked social commitments, and lots of gigs to try to stay healthy for, so my wish for each of you is to take time for yourself – feed your soul, get some sleep, rest up!!!  I’d love to share some highlights from my trip, so here we go!

Our first two nights were spent in Prescott, Arizona – a lovely little town that we may try to return to again since our first full day was pretty much rained out. Once the rain stopped, the wind continued to whip around with very low temperatures we were not acclimated to, being from sunny California… But on our second day, on our way to Sedona, we made a stop at one of the many little lakes in the area, Lynx Lake, and did a 3.5 mile walk completely around the lake.

We took off going clockwise, and then after we crossed the stream and soaked our shoes, wondering why there wasn’t a better place to cross, we came across a sign:

 

Oh, okay, it would have been helpful to see that before we set out in the direction we went! But, there were other hikers and dog walkers on the other side of the lake, so we weren’t completely alone or in danger (much).

Our next 2 nights were in Sedona, and having arrived in the late afternoon, we rested up for a longish hike the next day to Soldiers Pass. This was a 4.7 mile loop, and was fairly strenuous with lots of rock scrambling, and amazing vistas. A few highlights were a natural sinkhole called Devil’s Kitchen, the Seven Sacred Pools, and the Soldiers Cave.

      Soldiers Pass

 

Devil’s Kitchen Sinkhole

 Seven Sacred Pools

 Soldiers Pass Cave

While on the hike, we stood around with a group of hikers watching a helicopter rescue, which reminded us all to be very careful. These rocks are known to be vortexes and magical in some way, but it doesn’t mean you can’t fall 40 feet and be skewered by a tree limb…

 

The day we left Sedona, we decided to do one more hike:  the short 1.5 mile loop around Bell Rock – it’s fairly flat, so we added a lot of steps (according to my Fitbit) with just a little effort. There are also several trails up to the top, but we were done climbing...

 

Finally, we spent the last two nights in Scottsdale (a suburb of Phoenix), and our big outing was visiting the Musical Instrument Museum. I took hmm... probably a hundred photos mostly of stringed instruments from all around the world, and my biggest disappointment was not being able to reach out and try playing a tune on each and every one! I’d never seen a Peruvian harp up close, or a number of unusual bowed and plucked string instruments from around the world! But I also found many that I have in my small collection, and am actively playing. Here are some of the interesting harps:

Pervian harp

Frame harp from Tunguragau

Irish harp with 7 levers on the pillar 

Here are some of the stringed instruments I play or have played. The Swedish lute with bass strings was the predecessor of the harp guitar:                

Nyckelharpa and lute with bass strings

Harp guitar

Chapman stick

Each Chapman stick was numbered, and although you can’t see the numbers in the photo, when I was in Stickband decades ago, I played a borrowed stick numbered 284. I also sang some of my original songs, played my electric violin, Yamaha Electric Grand piano, and Moog Liberation synthesizer (that’s what I’m playing in this photo). I still have the violin, the tee shirt, and the hat!

Jim Bruno & me at a Stickband concert in 1978 or 9

We also did the guided tour of the special exhibit, and I was delighted when the docent explained that the Turkish Oud was originally developed by Armenian luthiers, but eventually became known as Turkish. As an Armenian, I was grateful that he gave credit where credit was due. I think this is a little-known fact… This photo shows the Armenia exhibit. Each country had a map, a video screen you could hear music through their provided headphones and receiver as you approached the exhibit. I felt I could have spent far more time here and highly recommend a visit if you’re ever in Phoenix!

There were two concerts at the museum that we were able to attend – a wonderful classical guitarist, and an oud player who played accompanied by a keyboardist with a drum machine. So inspiring! Those who have taken my Middle Eastern workshop might enjoy watching this short video. By the way, the rhythm is the Maqsum rhythm:

Maqsum   1          &   (2)  &    3           4

                 Doum  tek       tek  doum   tek 

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c209uVn7d8BBXkURk3H64M5nY5J-KCxa/view?usp=share_link

So, now, back to teaching private students, a workshop tomorrow, several performances in Assisted Living facilities, concerts with Gaelic Muses, concerts with Harpers Hall, Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings with family and friends, and yes, thanks to a lovely vacation, I think I’ll get through it all with a smile!

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones! 

Busy-ness

I’ve often wondered why business was not spelled bizness or buisness  -- we don’t pronounce it as busy-ness do we? But that’s what it is and as it is, that’s also the word origin…

Yep, I went to the web to research it and found this:

Old English bisignis ‘anxiety’ (see busy, -ness); the sense ‘state of being busy’ was used from Middle English down to the 18th century, but is now differentiated as busyness . The use ‘appointed task’ dates from late Middle English, and from it all the other current senses have developed.

And if you want to read a bit more, you can go here: https://tinyurl.com/businessorigin

So, why am I musing about this now? I have had to apologize to a student this week, saying that I was too busy, and didn’t get around to sending a response to his work. That stressed me out because isn’t it my business as a teacher to respond in a timely manner? I was actually relieved to see the word “anxiety” in the word origin – although that has been dropped in current definitions of the word business. I do think there can be an aspect of anxiety to the “state of being busy” as most of us find ourselves a bit too busy for comfort. The pressures of deadlines don’t come from our play schedule – only from our businesses…

Just to reassure you, my student said “hey, no problem” – he gets busy as well. And what I was busy with was more legitimate business – gigs, rehearsals, workshops… And this is also why my Friday blog is being written the following Tuesday…😖

It’s a good thing to be busy with lots of work, but it’s not good to become overly busy to the point of becoming anxious. Not good for the blood pressure! Many large companies require employees to take time management courses, and some will require a certain amount of downtime.

That’s great when the edict comes from above, but for those of us who are self-employed, we are the enforcer and the enforced, the leader and the follower. We have to be brave enough to set boundaries and limits and organized enough to schedule in that much-needed downtime.

I wrote a song during a particularly stressful time (some years ago) and a friend thought it applies more to those in large corporations than to a self-employed musician. “What, you? Stressed? You have the ideal job!” And yes, I love everything I do in my music career, but it does take a conscious effort to take care of myself in addition to taking care of business.

You can hear the song here:

Stretching Me Thin Verlene Schermer

​And here are the words:

Stretching Me Thin

© 2005 Verlene Schermer/BMI
All Rights Reserved

I can’t keep my head from spinning, I can’t keep a focus in my mind
Can’t even remember why I’m running, and what I’m expecting to find
How many years has it been, chasing after someone else’s deadline
They keep stretching me, stretching me thin
So thin that I might break if I don’t take some time

Give me just a day to do nothing, Give me just a respite from the race
This is no way to be living, Always on the run – I can’t keep this pace

There’s another call to reply to, here’s another letter I should write
I’m forever falling behind too driven not to catch up late at night
How many years has it been, chasing after someone else’s rainbow
They keep stretching me, stretching me thin
So thin that I might crack if I don’t pack and go

Give me just a day to do nothing, Give me just a respite from the race
This is no way to be living, Always on the run – I can’t keep this pace

How many years has it been, chasing after someone else’s pipe dream
They keep stretching me, stretching me thin
So thin that I might snap -- with one more slap I’ll scream  

Give me just a day to do nothing, Give me just a respite from the race
This is no way to be living, Always on the run – I can’t keep this pace

So, this is me now taking a bit of a break. We’re going to Arizona not just for a "day to do nothing," but for seven whole days to enjoy some downtime. We’ll be visiting the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, climbing red rock mountains in Sedona, and checking out Prescott, which is a town we’ve never visited before!

💕Verlene