How Can I Keep From Singing?

     This morning I woke up and immediately began complaining in my mind about some things that rubbed me the wrong way the night before. Suddenly I realized that I have a choice: I can choose to continue every morning remembering the ills of the day before, and thus starting the day unhappy with some people; or I can choose to begin a new day fresh, using Love as my tool to create an environment that is healthy for not only me, but for my family and all we come in contact with as well.

     So I wrote a little poem:

In the morning
I take Love
As my companion,
My goal,
My judge,
My guide,
My rule.

Yesterday is gone and passed,
Tomorrow is a dream that won't last.
Today is what I have to fill,
Fill it with loving is what I will.

Since Love is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

Amen

     When I reached the last lines, taken from a beloved hymn, I realized that much of my exhaustion and disinclination to work hard at singing comes from my dissatisfaction with life. I am going to try an experiment, and I wonder if you would like to try it too. I am going to start each day by praying this prayer and living by this rule, hopefully, throughout each day. I want to see if I have more energy and more desire to sing my songs, and perform this concert that is coming in one week from today.

     I bet I will. What do you think? If I'm not putting so much energy into stewing in my own juices, but expending it in loving through life, will it be something like exercise? Will it be that the more I give away the more I have? I'm thinking it's kind of like the old Pioneer Girl song:

Love is something -
If you give it away,
Give it away,
Give it away.
Love is something -
If you give it away,
You'll end up having more!

It's just like a magic penny:
Hold on tight, and you won't have any!
Lend it, spend it and you'll have so many,
They'll roll all over the floor! Oh!

Love is something -
If you give it away,
Give it away.... etc.

     That was one of my very favorite songs, especially as it had hand motions with it. So I've never forgotten it. Unhappily, though, I had not learned its lessons as well as one would hope. I'm glad I remembered it today. So I'm thinking, is it like exercise? Do you grow more energy the more love you expend?

     Let's find out, shall we?

     Along with the necessary increase in exercise at this age, I'll add a little increased exercising of the love muscle. I'm expecting the joy of childhood singing to be there next weekend.

     After all:

Since Love is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

Simply yours,

Patty