by Martin Collis, Ph.D.

Letting go seems to be becoming one of the sub-themes of WELL. In the last issue we included the wonderful poem by Jamie Sexton Holme the final couplet of which is:

"For the hardest thing to know
Is the art and grace of letting go."

Recently I have been reminded of the importance of letting go from two talented singers/songwriters: Guy Clarke and Carolyn Neapole.

Guy Clark is one of a number of Texan singer/songwriters that I listen to. I was delighted to see he was a part of an inaugural festival to open a new arts centre on Salt Spring Island. The audience was modest and interactive. Guy said, "I don't have a set-list, so you've got to help me out." What followed was lots of entertainment, laughter and wisdom. I liked, "Mistakes are only horses in disguise, no use to ride them over for we couldn't do it different if we tried."

I requested a song written by his wife called, "From the Heart" which ties into the concept of letting go. The lyrics might not be precise but the spirit is right.

"When I was a young man, my daddy told me
There is one thing that I want you to know
If you discover someone to hold on to
First thing to learn is how to let go.

You've gotta sing like you don't need the money
Love like you'll never get hurt.
Dance like there's nobody watching,
It's got to come from the heart if you want it to work."

The second artist who reminded me of the importance of letting go, is Carolyn Neapole. Carolyn and her very talented band accompanied myself, Dr. Nancy Wardle, and Lara Lauzon at a recent presentation for Pacific Coast Savings Credit Union.

Carolyn is an exciting, wise performer and a songwriter with a poet's love of words and a painter's eye for detail. For years a fixture on the Victoria and Vancouver music scene, Carolyn's debut CD, The Letting Go, demonstrates her mastery of the recording studio and her leadership of a strong, supportive band. Carolyn Neapole is a mature talent with a bright future.

A musician from the age of six and a composer from the age of fourteen, Carolyn's songwriting is the product of years of classical piano study and self-taught vocal and guitar skills. The Letting Go is rich with revelatory, poetic images and a haunting, supple sound.

You can visit Carolyn's web page for more information about upcoming concerts, to sample additional lyrics, and to purchase her debut CD "The Letting Go" at www.pacificcoast.net/~caro/.

In completing this issue's focus on two gifted artists' interpretations of letting go, Carolyn emailed us Emily Dickinson's poem, #341:

This is the Hour of Lead -
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow -
First - Chill - the Stupor - then the letting go -