🌹🎶 Sparking Connection 🎶 🌹
A ramble on the power of the arts to foster trust, hope strength and sparkle
🌹🎶 Sparking Connection 🎶 🌹
As it’s Full Moon, my monthly newsletter is doubling as a lunar ramble :)
The Full Version with this month’s events is here
🌟 “Sparkle is a lifestyle choice” 🌟
Cllr Mimi Harker OBE speaking at the Festival of Lights Celebration
hosted by Holy Cow Community Events @ Discover Bucks Museum
As fireworks fizz and dance in the deepening dark, I catch the sparks within everyday moments as I go about London town: the sight of a black and white cat serenely perched on the railway embankment, a chat with a lady who complimented me on my hat and a cheeky wink from a dashing gent who asked me to take a photo of him and his son. These sparkling details are held within the sweep of cloud-strewn autumnal skies, fringed by the rainbow leaves of disrobing trees. Momentarily slowing down and zooming in on the micro-sparkle amplifies the macro-sparkle in life.
As this month’s Super Moon looms full and close, stationed in the constellation of earthy Taurus the Bull, we can draw sure and steady strength from simple, natural pleasures. The Beaver Moon honours our furry friends who are busy reinforcing dams and building reserves in their lodges, ready for the winter retreat. ‘Ecosystem engineers,’ their beaverings help maintain biodiversity, purify water, reduce flooding and protect against drought.
The conscious design of warm lodges where we can rise and shine together becomes ever more necessary in darker times. When we meet in music, dance and song, we shed light on different aspects of ourselves, as part of an exciting journey of discovery. On this month’s Vocal Revolution Podcast choir director and vocal coach Mike King shares how singing can help us find our authentic selves, even in very challenging situations.
Far from being sparkly spin, the arts enable us to safely voyage into the mysterious, dark places. Just as the stars require the night sky to sparkle, the joy of illumination is made possible by the willingness to embrace the unknown. Shooting stars of eureka insight can emerge when we explore the crackly challenges of life creatively. There is a song for every human emotion from joy to heartbreak, and if we can’t find one that resonates, we sing a new song.
K’z Dance led by Kalpesh Zaladaviya, who will be getting us all dancing at Winter Sparkle
As I witnessed at the Holy Cow Festival of Lights Celebration in Aylesbury, community events offer a safe space to celebrate and share culture, creativity and cuisine, sparking warm connection. Local police jumped up and down to dhol drumming as children wove willow lanterns, and people of all ages and backgrounds swirled in colourful dancing circles together, the November sunlight sparkling in their eyes.
I’d love to see the creative beavering that brings communities together receiving more of the mainstream media spotlight, as it could help foster a greater sense of safety, trust and hope. How resilient might we become in the face of dangers, difficulties and divisions, if our challenges were balanced by affirming narratives of our innate creative capacity to spark meaningful, peaceful, loving connections, day-to-day, moment-to-moment. Whether it’s a smile, cheeky wink or a compliment, as Mimi says,
sparkle really is a lifestyle choice! :)
🌟 Hope to see, sing and sparkle with you soon! 🌟