Submitted by Guest Blogger Marnie Wright, Associate Vice-President, Human Resources
In times like this the need to dig deep, face and respond to change and try to keep ourselves level is a challenge. One of my tasks over the past several days, has been to set up processes that provide guidance for UFV colleagues to be safe while continuing to serve students and UFV.
While we are all doing our best to stay calm and focused, I don’t doubt that each person is managing anxiety and worries about themselves, their family and friends. I hear it in the voices I listen to, and in the emails coming into hrsupport@ufv.ca
Music is a tool that I use to calm myself and take a mental break from the pressures and stressors of the day. A hero of mine is YoYo Ma, arguably the best cellist in the world.
YoYo started a twitter sensation when he began releasing short clips under the twitter hashtag #soundsofcomfort a few weeks ago. Since that time musicians from around the world have used the hashtag to add their voice and artistry to offer comfort at this challenging time.
If you use twitter, you might want to check it out, here is a video clip about this story: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/yo-yo-ma-on-encouraging-songs-of-comfort-amid-global-crisis
I know that YoYo Ma playing Dvorak Cello Concerto and James Taylor’s White Album will help me stay grounded in the weeks ahead.
What are you listening to? What could UFV offer to our students and our community as an offering of support?
#soundsofcomfort