"I have confidence that spring will come again! Besides this, you see, I have confidence in me!" ~Richard Rodgers, from The Sound of Music
For many of us, as we head into the new year with resolutions in mind, getting through the cold and dark months of January and February requires emotional fortitude and faith that spring will indeed come again. The start of the new year, with its unknowns, can inspire as much fear and apprehension as it does excitement. The Sound of Music song, "I Have Confidence," expresses this idea. The song begins like this: "What will this day be like--I wonder! What will my future be...?" As Maria starts her journey out of the protection of the convent and into the outside world (for a job in a home where she will be responsible for seven children), she sings the song, "I have confidence" to give herself the courage to face the unknowns in front of her.
Facing 2026, we can identify with her. As musicians, every new venue is an unknown that can inspire insecurity. What will the sound be like? Will the people enjoy our song choices? Will the equipment work properly? For all of us, every day brings new challenges that we can fear or choose to face with courage and wonder for what lies ahead.
By the end of the song, as Maria approaches the captain's house, she sings, "All I trust I leave my heart to, / All I trust becomes my own, / I have confidence in confidence alone." We can find inspiration in this simple rhyme, facing the future with our whole hearts and trusting that we have enough light and warmth within our souls to share with each other, no matter how dark and cold it may be outside.
So, let's confidently raise glasses to the new year as we "take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne" and we cultivate the courage to spread light and love in all that we do.
with warmth, love, and light for the new year,
~Vicki and Dean
The Villones
