Allowing Life :)

They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose.

When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else.

And when a child is born into the village, the community gathers and sings the song, one unique melody for each unique child.

Later, when children begin their education, the village gathers and chants each child’s song. They sing again when each child passes into the initiation of adulthood, and at the time of marriage.

Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the bedside, as they did at birth, and they sing the person to the next life.

In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the Villagers sing to the child: If an individual commits a crime or aberrant social act, that individual is called to stand in the center of a circle formed by all members of the tribe.

And once again the villagers chant the child’s song.

The tribe recognizes that the effective correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment, but love and the remembrance of identity.

When you remember your song, you have no desire to do anything that would hurt another. A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it.

Those who love you are not fooled by the mistakes you have made or the dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you feel broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

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, you are living your song, and when you feel awful, you aren’t. In the end, we shall all recognize our song, and we shall sing – and live — it well.