I love this time of year. I love the dewy cobwebs you see on the grass. I love the Autumn sunshine. I love the leaves beginning to change and I even love the nights starting to draw in. So it is no surprise to me that various composers have also been influenced by this season.
The lyrics to ‘September Song’ by Kurt Weil are a metaphor for life. In May we feel like we have plenty of time to achieve all that we want out of life. But as we get to September our priorities have changed and we realise that the days are dwindling down to ‘a precious few’. The song tells us ‘The autumn weather turns the leaves to flame, and I haven’t got time for the waiting game’. So it is time to grab those golden days and make good use of them.
This year our May to September has been dominated by Covid-19. For a season we have been able to enjoy the sunshine and the warmth of summer after the cold, dark, closed in months that March and April brought. However, now there is also a real sense that we need to knuckle down. We are all experiencing the challenges of returning to a new ‘normal’ life but with the restrictions this virus imposes on us. For many this also means fear as to what can we do safely.
This September I have been trying to get my choirs going again with the restriction of the ‘Rule of Six’ and the fear of some sort of at least partial lockdown looming ahead. Meanwhile I am back teaching singing face to face but trying to make sure I keep myself and those I teach safe from the perils of droplets and aerosols. Life seems to be one big round of masks, hand sanitiser, disinfectant wipes, social distancing and well ventilated halls and rooms.
Among all this sanitary madness is also the desire to start afresh. After all, September is when schools go back to a new academic year. A new beginning. Some concerts are even happening now, even if some still get cancelled! But its ultimately the time to plan ahead. To plan Christmas concerts and to plan the future.
In February this year, before Covid-19, I attended an introductory course on coaching. It was something I wanted to know more about and I was fascinated by what I learned. After 35 successful years in the music profession I feel it is time to add another string to my bow. One good thing I feel this pandemic has created is the courage to challenge the present and to try new things. To learn new skills and to rethink how we do things. With this in mind I am going ‘back to school’ myself and will be doing a diploma course in ‘Transformational Coaching’. I am inspired by what I have learned so far and excited about what I will learn in the coming months. I know that the skills I gain will not only enhance the things that I already do, but will open up windows of opportunity for me in the future.
So, September will come and go, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t embrace the wintery months that follow. One of the things coaching shows us is that we are all able to choose our own destiny. Autonomy is fundamental to what makes us human. And there is no reason, even with the restrictions and challenges we face, that we cannot make our own choices about our future. After all, if we don’t, someone else will. So I hope that we all have a beautiful autumn and can enjoy the last of the summer sun. Whatever the next few months throw at us we will still be able to think to the future and know that we made these ‘autumn days’ meaningful and abundant.