For many singers, this time of year is chaos & fatigue with caroling, church and synagogue commitments, performances and concerts, crazy Broadway show schedules and the list goes on!

As a human being, this time of year can be exhausting emotionally, spiritually, financially. “Holidays” may not be a welcome word or feeling. “In a Daze” may be more appropriate!

Over the years, I have been in all those places. It ebbs and flows. We jump in, we swim, we tread water, we get pulled under, we gasp for breath, and then we realize we can float and be buoyed, and breathe…

This is one of the many reasons I love Winter Solstice and all it represents and evokes. Light and darkness cannot exist without each other. We see that in all spiritual paths and religious thought; We sense it in ourselves, and we feel it in the vibration we create when we sing. We see it in painting and line drawing and photography and sound design, and light design on stage and on the screen.

It is truly chiaroscuro in living form. There is no light without darkness. There is no shadow without light. They need each other to not merely exist, but to come alive.

Making decisions about how we approach the shadow and the light can truly make a difference in our experience and being present and conscious in the chaos and the stillness. Often, in the busy-ness of the season, we are so focused on what needs to get done, that we forget that the release is equally as powerful and necessary.

The time, the experience, the chiaroscuro of our lives craves balance, but it doesn’t need to be equal. They are not the same.

During Solstice we celebrate the depth of the darkness and stillness and look forward to the light. They exist in balance. Balance requires movement. Movement requires vibration. YOU are the embodiment of that vibration through your BEING and through your voice - literally and figuratively.

Create and nurture your rituals through this season to allow for stillness in order to balance the chaos and busy-ness that demands your attention. We simply need to stay present and experience those moments fully. We need to embrace the “no” and the “yes”. We need to create space and allow the light to reveal, as well as sink into the darkness and let it envelope.

If we discover beyond our vibration what is chiaroscuro in our beings and our world and our schedule, we will find balance and alignment. There is no right or wrong. There simply is darkness & light.

Wishing each of you discovery and acceptance during this holiday season. May you claim more of your chiaroscuro and vibrate into it fully!