Stillness

There is power in stillness.

As Lauren Daigle shares:

“In these songs and performances, there are so many moments where you’re really loud and profound.  And in the very beautiful juxtaposition you’re intimate and quiet and STILL. And you never knew that a whisper could have so much power behind it.  People rest.  They can rest in the sound.”

Especially in a year with so much uncertainty and tumult artists yearn for stillness. It is a deep-seeded drive to unpack what’s happening around us, find meaning, and translate it into work that engages and transcends.

I’ve not always been comfortable with sitting still.

Lindsey Sterling describes well her wrestle with stillness when covid first began:

“Those first few months, there was a lot of ‘I don’t know what to do with myself,’ Stirling recalled. Sitting in that and being uncomfortable in it, and eventually realizing that I think the only reason I thought I never liked (being STILL) was because I always had shame around it.  I felt like if I wasn’t working it meant I didn’t have value, or I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing.”

(Lindsey Sterling photo here. I’ve reached out to her management company on line.  I hope I can say “Used with permission.” By the time we send this eblast.)

It feels even more important to seek out reflective moments this year when so much changed.

In stillness we can find creativity.

In stillness we can find resolve.

In stillness we can find hope.

I hope that at the end of this year when we have all had to discover new depths of our artistic reserves, that in reflecting on moments of stillness, we are inspired to reach new heights.

Best wishes for 2021!

Megan Ann