Letters From the Editor

Editorial: A Question to Start the Day

Editorial: A Question to Start the Day

A hush came over the room as she spoke. Soft piano music accompanied her words, covered by the sound of fan noise—a welcome breeze on a warm summer night.

It was Thursday evening, the last day of Music and Worship Arts Week at Lake Junaluska. We were gathered in the chapel, the open stained-glass windows ushering in the night air.

“I’m learning as I get older that it’s simpler and simpler day by day,” she said with a smile. Her voice was kind and inviting.

“There’s a flow of love that started when the stars began, and every morning we get a chance to decide to live into that love and then ask, ‘What's mine to do?’”

Editorial: It's Okay to Make Mistakes

Editorial: It's Okay to Make Mistakes

It was a typical Monday afternoon.

My 2nd-grade student came bounding into the room, full of questions and things to tell me since I’d seen him last.

He sat down on the bench, eager to play an arrangement of “Sweet Molly Malone,” a piece I suggested last week might be good for our end-of-year recital.

Slowly, he made his way through, wincing out loud every time he missed a note. When he finished, I complimented him on his thorough practicing this week and offered a few suggestions:

Letter From the Editor: Do You Hear What I Hear?

Letter From the Editor: Do You Hear What I Hear?

Do you hear what I hear?

It’s true in any good conversation, whether we’re gathered around the dinner table or the table in the conference room; sitting in the living room for book club or a committee meeting: you talk and then you listen. You take turns. It seems simple enough, right?

But so often, we find ourselves focused on what we’re going to say next. We fixate on sharing our own ideas and opinions, offering the *best* solution, and planning what we’re going to say and how to say it, like we’re being interviewed.

Letter From the Editor: The Thing About Change Is...

Letter From the Editor: The Thing About Change Is...

Change.

It’s something we all face - change in address or job title, relationship status or identity, eligibility or health.

Big or small, change is often associated with inconvenience and uncertainty. Sure, the novelty of something new can be exciting and a welcome change of pace from the life we’ve been living, but deep down, there’s still something unsettling about it all - stepping from the known into the unknown.

Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew

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