Touches of frost and a heavy dew this campervan morning. A real chill on the fingers, face, chest and thick breath on air. Not unheard of in late April I am sure, but I don’t remember it over the last few years or so. Coffee is very welcome. The sky a pale blue, with a wee white haze, planes passing over head here and there. My usual blackbird companion, along with starlings in the ash. All the birds gathered on the highest branches, to grab some early morning sunshine and chase away the cold. A traffic hum in the background to accompany nature and this mornings musings. I have an eclectic taste in music, I know what I like and I know what I don’t, but it’s pretty broad and all encompassing. I am reflecting on a podcast I listened to yesterday featuring one of my fav folk artists from Canada Loreena McKennitt. She talked of her craft, her singing and the way she works. Her mindset of not being a technician, but trying to reach peoples soul in her work and her performances. I have been lucky enough to see her a few times on tour and can vouch for her efforts. However the sentence about her not being a technician, really struck me. Not just going out there and doing it, going through the motions, but providing something that touched people’s soul. I have been reflecting on the technician or going that extra distance. Am I just a technician or am I going the extra yards to connect with some one to get people to connect, to themselves or each other. I took some time out from counselling. I became very aware that I was becoming a technician. In my facilitation am I a technician or do I have a deeper purpose, a deeper desire to connect people and build community, through music making. In my photography am I just a technician or am I trying to tell a story, create an image, convey a feeling, a sense of awe and wonder, of beauty and what I am witnessing through the viewfinder. As I sit here and the words come tumbling out, am I just a technician forming words out of letters and going through the motion, or am I conveying where I am, who I am, what I am about and reaching into my soul and speaking to others. Well I hope so. I think the moment I sense I become a technician, it’s time to give up. Lovely days people.
“ Am I just a technician singing a song or am I going across that barrier to a place which is where you’re so much closer to some else soul. And for me that a central part of what I do.”
Lorena McKennitt.
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