“Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” – Emory Austin
I love this thought from Emory Austin. I am reminded of an experience with my grandmother. I called her Mom Mom. I loved her deeply. She lived far away from me, so it was always a celebration when she came to visit. My mind is flooded with special memories of spending time with her.
One of my favorite memories is of cuddling up beside her in church and belting out hymns together. My voice was loud, if not eloquent, and my grandmother gave a blessing to my sqeaky voice. And then came the visits after my grandfather died, when Mom Mom stopped singing. She would go to church, but was silent.
After several visits, I asked her why she was not singing. Her response to me brought a chill in my heart. She said, “I will never sing again.”
And I prodded, “But why, Mom Mom?”
“Honey, since your grandfather died, all my joy has gone. I will never sing again.”
Emory Austin was absolutely correct. “Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway”.
The adult in me looks back with more understanding about the profound grief that cloaked her. I have greater awareness. We can be hit with such grief that it stops us in our tracks. Yet even in sadness, life continues and needs to do so.
There is beauty and joy all around us. Even during the sad and uncertain times, we need to exercise our heart with singing, with gratitude, with awareness of the fullness of life. Singing moves energy. It promotes healing of our spirit and indeed our bodies.
WHATEVER is happening in your life this day, sing anyway. Take in a breath, allow the song to come forth. It will bless you.
Lucretia Hurley-Browning, MDiv, MS, is a guest writer whose recent background includes Chaplain of Abramson Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital and the Director of Juniper Tree Counseling Center. She is a therapist and ordained United Methodist Minister. Currently she is a writer by day, a reader by night, and is passionate about living life meaningfully with a good dose of fun.