 |
In the commune we had a lot of meetings; I would say the
ones that were not about work and logistics, were much like church. But not the solemn boring
kind…more of the hallelujah lets sing and dance kind.
One of the common threads through all of our services was
singing. We would sing in our grief and sorrow in times of loss, and we
would sing in celebration. The songs
could be written by our members, or classic hymns or songs we loved from
various musical artists. (Of course songs from the grateful dead and the Beatles
made a regular appearance).
When we would sing, whether it was in grief, reverence or celebration,
all of our cares seemed to fall away. For that moment in time when all our
voices were raised together, grudges were dropped, anger would dissipate and it
seemed just for a moment, we were in perfect harmony.
We could not all sing, there were some with beautiful voices
and a natural talent to carry a tune, and some who were, shall we say, somewhat
less talented. (I fall with the later group). But none of that mattered because
when we sang in unity we made something beautiful. We gave each other grace.
Reflecting on this brings to mind the song Amazing Grace,
while I am not religious by any stretch of the imagination, the message of this
song still rings true for me. Because who has not been lost and in need of
being found? Who has not been able to see through the darkness and then been
shown a light? I feel like that is what we were doing for each other during
these times, showing each other grace. I saw people weep while we sang,
and laugh too, there was a family song that actually incorporated laughter, and it was a favorite of everyone's. There is something healing about singing. I read somewhere that
every human being has an intrinsic need to sing, it crosses all cultural boundaries. It is one of things I truly miss
about living with the commune.
In those times when we are lost and blind, this is when we
need grace the most.
Enjoy this beautiful version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsCp5LG_zNE