Autumn: it is a time of turning, a time of change, a time for reflection, a time for preparation. It is also a time for telling and hearing stories. The music here, and the stories told through it, will work in many situations and seasons. They are especially relevant to all the turns and changes and quiet reflection needed to navigate which come with autumn. Each of the pieces has to do with journeys of one sort or another, as well.

Connection: sharing ideas, sharing stories, sharing time with friends and family is a powerful and lasting aspect of life. Connection with acquaintances and people less well known also has its place in creating and sharing community.

In challenging and shifting times, honoring and nurturing connection, in whatever ways might be safe and available, are healing and grounding things to do.

The saying that walking on uneven ground is good for improving balance strikes me as a metaphor for parts of the shifting times we are in at present. Music to help you think about that here, from rough seas to calmer waters, from quiet walks to a  tale holding wisdom from older times.

Shifting times: when we chose the name for this series, four years ago now, we did not know quite how many areas of life would be shifitng, and how continually and at what depths. There were already many important issues needing attention then. Now, there have been so many deep calls for attention in just the last four months at this writing, not to mention the last four years. Making one's way through all this with courage, grace, and impact requires focused intention. How to focus intention, and on what, will vary.

In times  of turmoil, of anger, of pain, songs of protest have their place. In times of protest, of turmoil, of pain, there is also time for seeking peace, need for solace, for reflection and connection, even when --perhaps especially when --circumstances seem bleak and dangerous.

That's how the music in this episode of Music For Shifting Times is meant to work. There is hope in the midst of turmoil, ways to find rest and seek connection in the midst of upheaval. May this music help you find and share these things.

Music can invite and encourage contemplation and connection, solitude and community.  Participating in arts of all sorts allows, invites, and encourages perspective and reflection.

At times, this also makes space for a place of rest.

With those ideas in mind, take a listen to the differing ways these musicians invite you into all of this.

There are so many ways music can speak to, and with, these shifting and changing times. For this part of the adventure of Music for Shifting Times, come along on a journey that takes in dark and light, but always with hope as a companion.

It is a time of year when thoughts turn to Ireland. It is the time of Saint Patrick's Day. The whole of this time of year, from February through May, is known as Patrick season, for that reason. At the time of Saint Patrick in earlier years in this series, I reflected that the story of Ireland, its diaspora, and its people, is one of making it through hardship and change, and finding ways to do that while keeping music in the heart, and sharing that music.

Dark and light, hard news and good news, in public life and in personal circumstance, always shift and change. It is vital to balance hard and discouraging with good and hopeful; that's what makes it possible to seek hope in challenging times, and to share that seeking and finding with others. As other musicians have through the music we have shared thus far in this series, and these artists do here.

The turning of a year invites looking forward and looking back. The ancient Romans knew this, hence Janus, from whom January takes its name, faces in both directions. Seismic changes in all areas of life seem to be almost normal in these last years, which is certainly a looking-both-ways statement in itself.