This week it’s been tough to stay on track. There have been days where I really felt like singing, and days where I haven’t wanted to at all. I’ve often just wanted to cocoon. I’ve felt alternately overwhelmed, exhausted, euphoric, despondent, lethargic, energetic, defeated. I listen to the birds sing and I feel envious. They don’t know there’s a crisis unfolding here. They don’t feel my isolation, my solitude.

I’m trying to be patient and compassionate with myself, because I realize that what I am feeling is grief. A student sent me a link to an article on this very topic, and I cried when I read it; I knew that this was exactly what I was experiencing (click link below).

https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief

My students have inspired me once again this week. They surprise me with their creativity, their inventiveness, their resilience and intuition. One student took my advice and tried practicing for 10 minutes out of every hour–and loved it. Many students are making profound discoveries about their singing in these times of isolation: they are able to forgive themselves for mistakes, give themselves space to explore and feel freed from the tyranny of grades. I want to follow their example. I know I can, and I must. I am going to Send Love to myself through singing. It’s the only way.