A Metaphor

I had a rare flash of insight the other night when I was at choir practice. Church choirs are made up of a mix of people who can sing really well and people who aren’t the best singers but still want to participate and glorify God through music. I’ve noticed (I’m sure this is true for all choirs) that sometimes the better singers try to sing extra-loud as a way of “helping” the singers who, well, aren’t as good. I have caught myself singing too loudly in choir on many occasions, but it’s not because I think I’m better and that the other singers need my help. When I was in college and had the privilege of singing with a group of incredible musicians, I sang loudly. I know those singers and music majors didn’t need my “help.” I just sometimes get caught up in listening to myself and I forget that I’m supposed to be blending with the rest of my section. But when I do remember this, when I match my volume to the singers around me and really focus on how the different voices combine, it’s beautiful. I love singing dissonant chords. I love being the note in the chord that eventually resolves. I love hearing how the altos voices blend with the tenors, while the basses' voices thrum on those low notes that hold the whole chord together.

My flash of insight came when I compared my choir self to my out-in-the-world self. I get caught up in my own life, worried about my own issues, focusing only on myself. And how am I supposed to blend with my environment, with the people in my life, if I’m only listening to myself sing? I think that part of being peaceful is being at peace with my surroundings and learning to live peacefully with others. This means shifting my focus from just myself to how I blend with the people around me. And it makes a difference! Talking to others, even exchanging a few words with the woman who is in front of me in the checkout line, or saying hello to my neighbors reminds me that I’m part of a community. I like being an active participant in the world, and I am called to interact with those around me in a peaceful manner, with a joyful heart, and with a feeling of love and tolerance toward total strangers. All of our voices and lives together, as a community, are more beautiful and more pleasing to God than anything I could do, any noise I could make, on my own. God, grant me the ability to listen to the other voices in the choir too, and to make sure that my voice blends with the others to create a beautiful noise.