There are many principles we would like to believe, many truths we would like to embody. And as lovers of African American spirituals, known as Sorrow Songs, can attest, the capacity of singing to facilitate change in one’s emotional state is enormous. And as in the blues, the progression is always from negative to positive. So as we wish for something better, singing can often make it become a reality, even if nothing has changed in our objective reality.
Identify something that you would like to hear and believe deep inside. The message could be a line from a song like, “You are so beautiful to me,” a saying, “All is well, all is well. All manner of things are well” or lines from a poem like John Neihardt’s, “There is more, there is more, there is always more.”
Experiment with singing the line, beginning with either a tune already familiar to you, or something that just seems to fit the rhythm of the words. Try this in the shower or your car or while walking in the early morning air.
Follow the song wherever it goes. Allow the tune to change and/or the words.
Notice how you feel once the song has come to its conclusion. P.S. You might discover a song you want to take with you in your regular life and repeat often.
