Tag: technology

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Making the effort

“Often we continue to suffer without making an effort to change; that is why we don’t find lasting peace and contentment. If we would persevere we would certainly be able to conquer all difficulties. We must make the effort, that we may go from misery to happiness, from despondency to courage.” — Paramhansa Yogananda

Going into seclusion is — for me — about making the effort to change. Not everything and not all at once, but still…one has to try.

While in seclusion I’ll mostly be taking a break from technology, except that I don’t want to break my commitment to writing in my blog every day.

So, what I’ve decided to do is prepare three daily posts ahead of time, with a quote about seclusion and being quiet. That way I can simply publish each draft from my phone. It’s a compromise.

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It’s virtual choir time!

Which means lots of emails, lots of downloads, lots of converting video to audio, and lots and lots of helping people navigate technology. Which is interesting for a not particularly technical person like me!

But it’s all for the best of causes — joining together in song despite being separated by time and space, this time in honor of Swami Kriyananda’s birthday. Yay! 😊

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Where there’s a will…

The lack of regular choir is really starting to weigh on me.

The virtual choir experience has very real benefits and definitely can convey a certain power. And we’ve been able to add back live music in the form of small groups for Sunday service. But the vast majority of our choir members are left out in the proverbial cold. Mainly because there’s nothing we can do right now that really involves the entire group in one activity.

Take the virtual choirs we’ve done. Because of the technology aspect, we’ve never had more than twenty out of more than fifty choir members participate. Same thing with Zoom choir rehearsals. And given that we don’t yet have permission to meet as a choir even outdoors…! Well, the hole that not having choir leaves in the fabric of our community is beginning to feel awfully big, and getting bigger.

So now you can understand why I’ve got “where there’s a will, there’s a way” on my mind. Because there has simply got to be a way to connect and interact and share and be together AS A CHOIR even while being safe and staying healthy! We just have to find it. 🤔

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All new, not yet normal

We can’t sing together as a choir right now.

So we’re all putting together remote, individually recorded, then cobbled together, videos.

But so many new levels of technology happening all at once is daunting for many of us.

And the frustration is double if it doesn’t work: you lost the battle with the technology and you don’t get to be part of the choir video!

It will get easier; and then maybe we can settle into a “new normal.”