Friday, September 28, 2012

Singing our own song - September 28, 2012

“Give ear, O heavens, let me speak;
let the earth hear the words I utter!
May my discourse come down as the rain,
my speech distill as dew.”
So begins the Song or Poem of Moses,
which appears to foreshadow the coming history
of the Israelites in their land.
The song tells of a people close to God
that strayed far from a path of belief and faithfulness.
Moses could have delivered his message
in a different way, but he chose a form
that has its own rhythm and feel.
It was almost as if words of warning
delivered in the form of a song
had a greater potential to penetrate
the minds and hearts of the people.
The opening words of the song
describe how a message can begin to "sink in,"
Just as rain or dew soaks into the ground
to enhance the growth of plants,
words spoken or sung well can offer us nourishment
that can enable us to grow in knowledge.
We likely have our own personal ways
in which we are inspired to shape our words
into prose, poetry, or song lyrics with melody.
Perhaps the ideas come to us
in the way that rain may suddenly start to fall ‑ in an instant.
It may be a gradual process, whereby thoughts and feelings
come together over a longer period of time,
emerging into something new and complete 
when they are ready.
What is most important is that we be open
to the possibility of expressing ourselves
by singing our own song, even if it has no melody.
Our words voice our feelings, our opinions and our beliefs,
but, mostly, they tell our story.
So may we, like Moses, find new ways to convey
our own personal narrative.
May our creativity flow like a stream.
 May new thoughts penetrate our souls
like a soothing, cleansing rain.
 And may our words, however we express them,
nourish one another with insight, wisdom,
comfort and hope.


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