Somehow we have been fooled into thinking that song is entertainment, something we can do without, like dessert. But to give voice to what lives inside is what keeps all things possible. In truth, the minute we arrive we are born singing, though this is often mistaken for crying. Yet without this deep reflex, the lungs won’t work and the lifelong exchange between inner and outer can’t begin.
I remember my first day alone at home after my rib surgery. For the first time in months, everything was still, the morning light now filling the space where my rib used to be. Suddenly, finally, I began to weep, loudly, as pockets of fear and pain and exhaustion escaped. This release was a song, and what I hadn’t realized was that, once released, once the buildup of my journey was given a way out, life with its thousand energies and softnesses could come in.
Such a simple secret; by letting things out, we also let things in. So if you’re cut off, in pain, estranged, numb-sing, give voice to anything. It needn’t sound pretty. Simply, bravely, open despite the difficulty, and let what is in out, and what is out in. Sing, and your life will continue.
