I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.
Song by The New Seekers (click to listen)
Harmonia, daughter of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, is associated with order, concord, harmony, and balance-the just rightness of things. Her counterpart is Eris, the goddess of strife and discord.
I love the concept of harmony. The word itself evokes peacefulness. Certain harmonies and sounds in music (the Romantic composers, Tibetan Bowls, Bossa Nova) can immediately relax me into my heart space. That nourishes my desire for stillness, calm and quiet.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have our seasonal rituals and customs bring us more often to that “peace” place? Many of us feel overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious during winter holidays. When a family member challenges, a friend behaves poorly, someone disappoints, something goes awry, I say or do something I wish I hadn’t, these moments are the gifts. We get to practice acceptance, letting go of expectation or judgment, and gently offer loving kindness to ourselves and others. One gift is the opportunity to lighten up and not take things so personally, even, and especially when they are.
The sooner I recognize discord, that music I don’t like, the sooner I can stabilize my brain. A simple 1:2 breath or whispharmonered “ah” shifts the body away from fight freeze steadying reactivity, Sing the jingle! The goal is to stay out of struggle and find harmony asap. Connecting to your breath is the key. It helps us rebalance, refocus, and redirect.
Yes, harmony takes patience and practice. Yes, a single conscious breath and a smile can absolutely change everything.
Elves live in harmony with the world, and I try to do that.
Orlando Bloom, English actor Lord of the Ring series