Tuesday tune – Laudete!

I want to try to write a bit more often because I would really like to improve and I know that the only way is to practice. (And read lots!) So as a way of getting me to write a bit more I thought that each Tuesday I would blog about a song that is important to me or that I’m just enjoying at the minute. Normally I don’t use an iPod or listen to music on my phone or anything like that. When I’m with the kids I like to actually talk to them instead of having earphones in my ears, and when I’m walking on my own then I prefer the sounds on the street, I want to absorb the life and energy that is around me. But today I thought I would try to have some music just for a change… and Taize’s ‘Laudete Omnes Gentes’ was the first thing that came up on my phone to listen to. Not probably my go to choice, but there was something amazing about listening to the voices of the Taize community singing songs that have been sung, praying words that that have been prayed on the streets of Shadwell for hundreds of years. ‘Praise the Lord everyone!’ would be a fair translation I think!

Having those words and hearing the music seeping into me disarmed me. It affected my body and my soul. I felt like I could let my heart soften a bit, I could relax my shoulders, I could walk slower, lift my eyes a bit, and notice the beauty around me. I’m trying not to rush everywhere but to take notice, to look at things and really see them, and with that song as a soundtrack my walk turned into a prayer.