Here we are once again at the end of one year and looking toward the beginning of another.  As I write, my family and I are just completing a Thanksgiving weekend filled with warmth, love, togetherness and joy.  The joy we feel is real, for there are so many things to cherish in our lives.  But the energy is tempered, even as we approach the season Christians celebrate as Advent, the coming of the Christ child later this month.  This joyful anticipation is tamped down, at least for me, by the sadness of a country divided, a political environment tainted with confusion, anger and disappointment for many.  Many of us are asking:  where do we go from here?

Whether or not you feel this state of pensive ennui, there is still the specter of winter coming on and the movement of the soul inward.  Mirroring the body’s movement to the indoors, our emotional lives are enriched by interior energy that drives us to go in.  But it’s not just a reflective time of stillness (though that’s a very good start) – it’s a time when we rediscover the inner wellspring of creativity that brings us to new beginnings.

As I’ve written before, Jean Ritchie was inspired to compose the exquisite song “Winter Grace” by this annual movement to the inner regions of the heart and soul.  It was the farmer’s time, during the winter, to move inside and enjoy restful days after crops had been harvested and stored.  These days for the Ritchies were often filled with their music and arts.  For Jean, this time is reflected in her poetic lyrics as she writes about the time of rest being a grace-filled, interior introspection as reflected in the outer landscape.

One of the most miraculous and yes, graceful, aspects of Jean as a person, was that she always saw the silver lining in almost every person and every circumstance.  To her, every story was a revelation, every human being a source of friendship and joy.  So in “Wintergrace,” far from condemning winter as a time of hardship or bitterness or lack, she sees the opposite:  the deep beauty of the inner and outer landscapes, and the rich opportunity for all of us to go in, to begin regenerating, and to find a quiet and gentle peace.

I welcome this time with open arms, because I believe that it is within these states that we can begin to create again, be inspired again, and can find hope in our faith, knowing that soon spring will come again.

WINTERGRACE
Jean Ritchie

This is the time so well we love,
The time of all the year;
When winter calls with chilling breath,
For fireside and good cheer.

A time for man and beast to stand
And feel the season turn;
To watch the stars for secret signs,
And God’s true lessons learn.

For the time when the corn is all into the barn,
The old cow’s breath’s a frosty wine,
And the morn along the fallow field
Doth silver shine.

And when cold morning’s radiant star
Shines over hill and plain;
We know anew that little Babe
Is born to us again.

And man and beast and bird in tree,
Each one in his own place;
We bow our hearts and thank our God
For winter rest and grace.

Though Jean’s own film project for this song is no longer available, we’re blessed by the beautiful recording and film by Kate MacLeod for her work on “The Jean Ritchie Experience.”  Thanks to Kate for her gorgeous work on “Wintergrace.”

I hope you find your peace and grace this coming holiday season.

And as always, thanks for reading.  Happy holidays to all!
Love and Blessings,

Susie

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Award-winning recording artist, Broadway singer, journalist, educator and critically-acclaimed powerhouse vocalist, Susie Glaze has been called “one of the most beautiful voices in bluegrass and folk music today” by Roz Larman of KPFK’s Folk Scene.  LA Weekly voted her ensemble Best New Folk in their Best of LA Weekly for 2019, calling Susie “an incomparable vocalist.”  “A flat out superb vocalist… Glaze delivers warm, amber-toned vocals that explore the psychic depth of a lyric with deft acuity and technical perfection.”  As an educator, Susie has lectured at USC Thornton School of Music and Cal State Northridge on “Balladry to Bluegrass,” illuminating the historical path of ancient folk forms in the United Kingdom to the United States via immigration into the mountains of Appalachia.  Susie has taught workshops since 2018 at California music camps RiverTunes and Vocáli Voice Camp.  She is a current specialist in performance and historian on the work of American folk music icon, Jean Ritchie.  Susie now offers private voice coaching online via the Zoom platform.   www.susieglaze.com