by Christina Gil

Before I moved to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, I was never much of a singer. I sang in the car on the way to work, I sang my kids to sleep, and that was about it.

When I came for the visitor program at Dancing Rabbit, I heard about this thing called “song circle.” I observed it as I passed by the window, but I was too shy to go myself. I have since come to learn that Song Circle is a weekly event that involves teaching and singing songs as a group with no sheet music or devices to aid in learning the songs.

Then, a few months later, when I moved to Dancing Rabbit with my family, I started going to the weekly song circle because I thought it was a “good educational event.” In other words, I went for the kids. I was still a little shy about singing in a group, but with the two kids to mask my embarrassment, I made the leap.

Fast forward two years later—singing is now a big part of my life. I go to Song Circle almost every week, we sing songs around the house frequently, and I am looking forward to attending two different singing retreats this year, one of which is at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

I guess this change happened as most changes do—extremely slowly, but also all at once.

Here Are Five Reasons Why I Love to Sing

Singing gets me out of my head. I am constantly making plans, reviewing my plans, and thinking about plans that I need to make, not to mention thinking about how the plans that I have made might go horribly wrong or wondering what I’ve forgotten to add to my list of plans. So, when I find an activity that takes me out of this thought spiral for a little while, it’s a great relief. Singing is just rote enough that I don’t have to think much, but it is also often new and challenging enough that my brain doesn’t get distracted. When I sing, I get out of my mind—at least for a few minutes.

Singing is a great way to connect with friends, neighbors, and family. When I sit with my family during Song Circle, it’s one of the nicest times of the week that we spend together. There’s no fighting over who got the bigger piece of toast or over when the screens should turn off. We often end up choosing the same songs when it’s our turn to pick. We are hanging out together and it is definitely quality-time.

Singing is a way to just “be” for a little while. As someone who spends a lot of time thinking (see reason #1 above), I’m also someone who spends a lot of time doing. Sometimes life can feel like a task list that never ends. But, when I am singing with a group, I’m not multi-tasking or achieving or getting things done. I’m just having fun and staying in one comfy place.

I want to keep changing and growing and pushing my edge. I guess I never quite lost my shyness about singing, and so I am not always comfortable singing in a group. But, that’s another reason why I keep doing it. It’s a great opportunity to widen my circle of experience by pushing the edge a tiny bit.

When we hit that nice harmony, the feeling is hard to beat. I’m not sure of the science, but I’ll bet there is a neurological reaction to hearing good harmonies. Sure, there are plenty of times when we are all off-key or off-beat and don’t quite get those harmonies—and yet, those times are still good fun. And then, there are those times when we get just the right mix of people and we are all at just the right place at the right time, and it sounds amazing!

Do you want more singing in your life? Then join me and others at Singing Rabbit over Labor Day weekend 2018. Come and find out what your reasons for singing are.