It’s 2021 .. and unusually so, the reminder to slow down is everywhere.

“Making space for the rest that restores us ” – Magnolia Journal cover

“Music happens between the notes.”- Yo Yo Ma (via Leann Rimes’ podcast)

“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”- Phil Dunphy, Modern Family

Like I said, e-very-where.

This “slow down” mantra is typically viewed as counterintuitive to a New Year’s ready-set-go! start, but I must say, the more I embrace it the more my life seems to change for the better.

And so, too, does my voice.

The race for the “bigger, better” voice is more often not the way to achieve those big voice goals. Instead, there is no race. And the journey is marked with pauses, with “a lot of a little”, regular dates. (Not to mention that as vocalists, it is important to marinade in a technique and let repetition do its thang. #musclememory)

Regular. Today, not tomorrow. Slow and steady. And definitely not all-or-nothing. (5 minutes is better than none)

It’s in this slower pace that we’re actually spending less hours “working” and somehow getting more done. There seems to be more clarity, more focus, more energy, more downtime, and perhaps the icing on the cake, more gratitude. There’s something to be said about this slower pace and the rejuvenating powers of pausing. And once you hit gratitude, celebration is just a mere hop, skip and a jump away.

So I am taking this as an invitation to lean into the moment, the space, to slow down, and (gulp) trust.

#vulnerable #magic

And that includes my singing practice. And its big beautiful goals.

“E’erday I’m (not) hustlin’”

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