Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Searching for SIMPLE and BEAUTIFUL musical WISDOM?? Look no further...

A Child’s Song By Alan Cohen

There is a tribe in Africa where the birth date of a child is counted not from when they’ve been born, nor from when they are conceived but from the day that the child was a thought in its mother’s mind. And when a woman decides that she will have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and she listens until she can hear the song of the child that wants to come. And after she’s heard the song of this child, she comes back to the man who will be the child’s father, and teaches it to him. And then, when they make love to physically conceive the child, some of that time they sing the song of the child, as a way to invite it. 

And then, when the mother is pregnant, the mother teaches that child’s song to the midwives and the old women of the village, so that when the child is born, the old women and the people around her sing the child’s song to welcome it. And then, as the child grows up, the other villagers are taught the child’s song. If the child falls, or hurts its knee, someone picks it up and sings its song to it. Or perhaps the child does something wonderful, or goes through the rites of puberty, then as a way of honoring this person, the people of the village sing his or her song. 

In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them. 

The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another. 

And it goes this way through their life. In marriage, the songs are sung, together. And finally, when this child is lying in bed, ready to die, all the villagers know his or her song, and they sing—for the last time—the song to that person. 

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn’t. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home.

“Sing Your Song,” from Wisdom of the Heart by Alan Cohen, copyright © 2002 by Alan Cohen. Published by Hay House, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on Alan Cohen’s books and programs, visit  alancohen.com

And OMMG how utterly beautiful is this artwork! Check out more here... 
https://www.facebook.com/BeneathMyHeartArt and here http://beneathmyheartart.blogspot.com.au/


2 comments:

  1. It is such a beautiful story I cry every time I read it....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing it with me Abbey - it's sooo beautiful isn't it? We have a song for Maple and it calms her down (and us too) when she's upset :) x

    ReplyDelete

Thankyou for sharing this journey with me. I love reading your comments and treasure each one.