The African Song- An Inspirational Story

A photo by Hans Hillewaert


This is a beautiful story I found on a facebook friend's note. It is a story about the healing power of love, of our connection with source, of the nature of our spiritual being. I have resolved many problems using love rather than harsh judgmental punitive measures; and it has been very successful. But a very important note to bear is that the love has to be GENUINE.

I have done too many mistakes singing the wrong song to my children, I still do now, but I am slowly learning to find the song of love that resonate with them. And as I do so, I see them healing slowly but surely as they reach out to fulfill their purpose and full potential. There are still a few people who push my buttons, and I am learning to sing the right song to myself to comfort me and to honour them. This story can also be found at Expressions of Soul.com and was first written by Alan Cohen the author of the best seller The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

The story goes like this:

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.

In 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. So remember, just keep singing and you'll find your way home.