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When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant,
she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together
they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child.
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.
When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child's
song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the
village gathers and chants the child's song. When the child passes
through the initiation to adulthood, the people again come together
and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her
song.
Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family
and friends gather at the person's bed, just as they did at their
birth, and they sing the person to the next life.
The African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers
sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the
person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual
is called to the center of the village and the people in the community
form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them.
The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior
is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity.
When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need 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 mistakes
you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember
your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are 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, what you are doing matches your song, and when
you feel awful, it doesn't. In the end, we shall all recognize
our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the
moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and
you'll find your way home.
~Alan Cohen~
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