“Our faith must be alive, always growing, like a tree. It is our true religious experience that nourishes our faith and allows it to grow.” —Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ, p. 158.
I choose to be open to my true religious experience and to have the patience to see it in the midst of other attitudes and practices that obscure it at times—the patience to wait for it to resurface, or for me to be able to see past the negative and embrace the good. So, that means I get to go to church again and actually feel good about it. Yay!
The other Sunday, I was the only soprano in our skeleton church choir, sparse for the summer. I just tried to relax and sing my best without trying too hard. It went well, and I was glad to hold my own. The above attitude certainly helped. So did a lot of stretching and deep breathing.
For me, both faith and singing depend on letting go of the tension and maintaining a good stance or attitude, in order to let the notes ring out and trust what I really believe is true: For example, my voice is just fine, and God is love. If my jaw is clenched, or if I’m frowning or staring at my feet, it’s really hard to sing. If I’m focused on all the things I don’t like about my Church at this point in history, it’s really hard to hold on to the faith I’ve been given, the things that I truly do believe.
Time to “let go and let God”—again! Like most worthwhile things, this takes practice.