Nurture the seed in your heart
Tend to its delicate parts
Do like the ancients who knelt in the earth
Carefully pruning and urging the blooming
Chorus:
Grow, blossom and grow
Grow these seeds we have sown
Feed the tribe
Make each strong inside
Take your place, take up space
Among the waves of grain
Bend and sway, live out your day
Nourishing those in whom hunger grows
Chorus
We come to this opening in our lives
No viewpoints
Nor answers
We seek
To fulfill the contract we carry in our hearts
For our lives
Chorus
Feed the tribe
Song Origins:
This song began as a tribute to my pastor, Jan Hryniewicz, an indomitable and inspiring woman who “feeds us” in many ways. It is a metaphor for what I deeply believe—that we are each here to contribute to something greater than our own personal gain. To use our unique gifts and talents to “nourish those in whom hunger grows”. Whatever that hunger is for or about.
There’s a parable from the Cherokee Nation of an old man teaching his grandson about life. He says, “A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, fear, greed, self-pity, superiority and ego. The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, generosity and compassion. This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person too.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Jen’s Favorite Line:
We come to this opening in our lives. No viewpoints, nor answers. We seek to fulfill the contract we carry in our hearts.
Question to Contemplate:
In the end, what will matter most about who I have been in this life (or moment or situation)? (Do those things.)