I love that story about the African women tuning into the unique song of the baby, singing it when the baby is in utero, and then teaching the community to sing it to the child throughout significant times in the child's life from birth to death. It nurtures the uniqueness of the child rather than indoctrinating the child with the songs of others. And I love that the community gathers around the individual when he or she commits a wrong behavior in order to remind the individual of his or her unique identity. Our culture is not so advanced as that African village, and sure would benefit from getting there. I do have friends who sing and support my song, and remind me of it when I forget. The bottom line of a personal story is of a time when I was down on myself and friends reminded me "I have a right to be me, I have a right to be powerful." What helps me see beyond the mistakes of others and connect with their song is knowing that they are me, knowing that while I don't know what they've been through I do know that I have in me what it takes to make whatever mistakes they make, and knowing I would want others to help me get back to my song when I go wrong.
On Nov 29, 2019 David Doane wrote :