My father sang and played the piano on his own radio show for 35 years, so I was raised with constant music in my life. When he started to teach me how to play the piano, I’m sure that my father never dreamed that I would someday have a career as a folk singer. By the age of thirteen, I was performing classical music in concerts.

But one day I heard a folk song called "Gypsy Rover" on the radio, and it changed my life. I started listening to and learning folk music, and when I was sixteen, I begged and pleaded until my father bought me a guitar.

The storytelling component of folk music spoke to my heart. And instead of playing alone at a piano, I began playing and singing in the company of other musicians who enjoyed the comradery of trading songs with one another and learning songs from one another. Being involved in the folk-music world, I felt as if I was part of a social circle of talented, friendly people.

I was strengthened by the spiritual quality of folk music. Although I grew up singing in the choirs at church, I was drawn to the message of a spiritual journey that most folk music addressed.

During my forty-one-year career as a folk singer, I have traveled on the road a lot, doing sixty to eighty shows a year, but I have loved every minute of it. There’s nothing I like quite as much as being on an airplane or in the back seat of a car, traveling somewhere. I settle in with all my toys—my books, computer, tape recorder, and CD player—and have a great time.

Keeping my spiritual connection intact is of great importance to me. One of the things that is so wonderful about Daily Word magazine is that I can carry it with me wherever I go and pull it out to read anytime. It’s portable enough, and there is always something in the daily messages that pertains to me.

Sharing the Arts

I was asked to be a representative for the arts for UNICEF in 1994, and in that capacity, I have traveled to Russia, Japan, Bosnia, Croatia, and Vietnam. I lecture and write about UNICEF. They’ve been so much in the forefront of children’s physical and emotional health. I became interested in an art therapy program they started in Mozambique. The children there were growing up in such violent situations. Their villages were surrounded by land mines and were continually being shelled. I didn’t realize how terrible their situation was until I actually went there on a visit. I learned firsthand how helpful art programs were to these children. Doing something artistic such as singing, reading, playing an instrument, or drawing helped them through some very traumatizing times. The arts are an important part of everyday life, but they take on even more importance when they help children and adults who are emotionally upset.

I was raised in a church environment, but folk music did so much in leading me into a deeper prayer life. I think prayer is the strongest antidote there is for negativity and fear. In my own work, I rarely start to write a song without first going to the prayer place within. It is essential for my own stability and emotional health to do that.

The Journey of Life

Like everybody else, I have gone through some difficult times. All the violence—and the fear that even more will come—makes the journey of life difficult for all the people of the world.

My own personal journey has included surviving the suicide of my son, and that’s been extremely hard for me to do. Yet I don’t think that we can really compare troubles—that one person’s challenge is greater than another’s.

We all have challenges, and we just need to know there are tools that help us overcome them. Prayer is a powerful tool by which we can maintain a strong connection with that greater force than ourselves, because alone we just could not handle it.

The thing I feel strongest about is that, for all of us, our own inner guide knows what is going on and what is ours to do. It’s an inside job and takes a lot of prayer, a lot of work, and a lot of trust, but that is when the real healing comes through.

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Judy Collins is an accomplished singer, songwriter, author, actress, and filmmaker. She recently celebrated her 40th year of recording that includes 37 albums, 10 top-10 hits, and gold and platinum status. Judy has founded her own record company, called Wildflower, and does charity work for UNICEF and Amnesty International. In 2001 she was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the National Museum of Women in the Arts.


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