The Song He Sings
“We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.”
Image Credit @rayhennessey
I listened to his song for days and days. It was a soothing, beautiful song. I eventually came to know it as a love song.
He came faithfully every day, sitting in the tree, singing his heart out to his love and mate. She was protecting and warming their love children, yet to be born, in the nest they had built together. I was in awe of their equal partnership.
I lived in the mountains then. I watched as they jointly built a nest on the top beam of our deck, surrounded by ponderosa pine, Colorado blue spruce, and aspen. I watched them for weeks, amazed at the partnership they had forged, which was evident from his love song, which was encouraging and positive, as they awaited new life and their daily, joint duties of feeding three hungry youngins.
I no longer live in the mountains, but tonight, I hear the same love song as he sits in the flowering tree outside our bedroom window. I don't see a mate or a nest. She may be there, but what I hear is someone who wants and needs to sing his song. He is taking a rest now, but I know he will return.
I see him having a supporting role in this movie. But he deserves equal accolades and a nomination for Best Actor. He hung in, stayed the course, played his part, and sang his heart out.
The song he sang was one of “being there.” It said, “I’m here, I’ve got you. You’re not alone.” The song later became a song of doing, not just being. It said, “I’m here to cover the daily tasks, providing meals, cleaning the nest, protecting you, and guarding against danger.
There are times when we need someone in a supporting role, and other times when we are privileged to be the supporting actor. But make no mistake: supporting roles are never secondary. They are demanding and often unacknowledged and unrewarded, but they are among one of the most important roles one can assume.
Your song must be sung because you never know who needs to hear it. The hard part is you rarely know when anyone has heard the song. So, it's easy to say it doesn't matter. But it does. Someone will hear your song. And you will hear another's song, often at the most unexpected moment and when you need it the most.
Your song may be both one of being and one of doing, as they are two sides of the same coin. Being is showing up and being present. Doing might be bringing a casserole, which is nice, but even better is saying, “I’m here to load the dishwasher and clean your bathrooms because I know you don’t have the energy for that, and it’s bothering you.”
The song to be sung is one of comfort, both physically, practically, and emotionally. It’s a song of love, acceptance, understanding, partnership, and gratitude.
Never forget to sing your song or to listen. The songs are there, just waiting to be shared.
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