Throughout their lifetime, many people will have experienced at least one power outage. Blackouts are not uncommon; they usually only last a few hours (Gorski, 2024), and power is returned quickly enough to prevent long-lasting consequences. If people know a big storm is coming, they may even get the chance to prepare for a blackout by stocking up on supplies or finding alternative power sources. The Northeast Blackout of 2003 was very different.
“In the end, we’ll all become stories” - Margaret Atwood
I taught high school social studies for well over a decade. Then, I regularly watched whatever local, national, or global event happening - elections, mega speeches, Olympics, Superbowl, or awards ceremony. Whatever it was, someone was bound to want to chat or share a story about it the next morning.
Seasons are changing just now: winter to spring in the northern hemisphere, summer to autumn in the southern part of the globe.
Climate change brings unexpected happenings to these seasons of change. There are constants and unexpected changes in world order and in personal lives, too.
Music for shifting times is what we decided to call this series back when we began with it. As times continue to shift in unexpected ways, there is music to illuminate, to inspire, and to walk alongside us through these times.
In an age when every swipe, like, and pause is accountable to a machine, creators and brands have begun to ask: Are we building an audience, or are we simply feeding the algorithm?
For a number of years, Instagram has transformed into something akin to a guessing game. Even accounts with committed followings often struggled to get their content in front of the people who had opted to see it. When automation and algorithm changes became standard, organic discovery became a secondary priority.
For sixteen days every four years, the Olympics take center stage. This year, it was Milan and Cortina that displayed a spectacle of sport, grit, determination, elegance, strength, veracity, sportsmanship, and the power of the human spirit.
Changing and shifting times, indeed.
As we often remind you on this series, community and connection can be sources of strength in such times.
Music can be a reminder of community and connection. It can at times offer a gateway into ideas about these things, too, or a reminder of connection and shared ideas and values even across distance and time.
“Believe in your dreams, no matter how impossible they seem” - Walt Disney
I just read an Instagram post that offered the likes of the following words for 2026: faith, bloom, ease, abundance, and magic. I felt these deeply…and simultaneously wondered when did we start giving words to years?
Winter.
Holiday season.
Grey skies, maybe snow or rain.
A lot to do as the year draws to a close.
Maybe you find this part of the year too busy, too cold, or too isolating.
Perhaps, on the other hand, you greet this time of year with anticipation and joy.
Maybe there is time and place for a bit of all these things.
