What is Your Song?

Sing, sing a song. Sing it Loud, Sing it strong. Sing of good things not bad. Sing of happy, not sad. Sing, sing a song. Make it simple to last your whole life long. Don’t worry if it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing, sing a song. Sesame Street

This simple, yet powerful song has been buzzing in my head for weeks now. It plays in my head in my sleep and pops up over and over throughout the day. It is an earworm, deluxe. Since it won’t leave me, I have decided to pay attention to what it is trying to convey to me. There is something in this song that my Soul wants me to know.

As I mull over the meaning of the song, I realize that our song is a metaphor for our gifts and talents, for who we are at a Soul level. And I realize that for most of my life I have minimized who I really am as a Soul. I sense that many people, especially women of a certain age, have been conditioned to hide our true selves, our true greatness as children of the Divine.

I remember several times in my life when I had accomplished something wonderful – aced a test, met a goal, won an award. My family would say, “Don’t brag on her too much, it will give her a big head.” The message came through loud and clear that it was unseemly (if I may use such an old-fashioned word) and conceited to be proud of my gifts and accomplishments. I was taught to always share credit with others, to minimize my achievements, and to pretend that I was less than.

In high school in the sixties, the popular girls weren’t the girls taking Physics classes, but rather the ones who played dumb and fawned over the football heroes. Being smarter than the guys wasn’t something to be proud of, but rather something to hide. So I hid as best I could behind a façade of shyness and not speaking out. I lost my voice and my true self along the way.

Melinda Gates said, “A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” For me, and I suspect many others, it has been a lifelong search to find that true voice of my soul and to use that voice in service to others.

So back to the Song – the voice of who we are. The simple lyrics say to sing out loud and strong, to sing of good and happy times (which I interpret as our success and accomplishments along the way). The song says to keep the message simple and deep enough to last a lifetime. And lastly, the message is to don’t worry about whether your song is good enough for others. Just sing, sing a song.

As I find my own voice through writing and sharing it in this blog, I am reminded that it isn’t the loudest voice, or the most complicated voice, or even the best voice that can make a difference. It is rather the voice that knows the song of its own Soul, the one that sings without worrying if it’s good enough, the one that continues to sing in the good times and the bad.

What is your song and are you singing it joyfully and consistently? Are you showing up to sing your song?

Barbara Garland
March, 2021