Lines That 'Pop'

With my guitar in hand I lead hymn sings at a Christian Science nursing facility.  We sing about 14-20 hymns for about 30 to 45 minutes.

I'm usually surrounded by small or medium group of mostly silver haired folks sitting comfortably in antique couches and in their wheelchairs. The setting is a homey and comfortable solarium lounge or in the high-ceiling library of the old heritage Victorian mansion that this facility was centered on and built around.

Everyone has their brown hard-covered Christian Science hymnals in hand as they sing along. But the singing is just one part of this weekly ritual. At the heart of these coming-together sessions are the Spirit-leading healing words found in the century old (and newer supplemental) Christian Science hymns.

A good many hymns in the classic hymnal had their origins as poems published in the religious periodicals of the Christian Science church in Boston during the formative years of the Christian Science movement.

Even after leading these hymn-sings for years, a few lines will always 'pop out' from the pages in my thought- providing comfort or presenting a solution to some concern preoccupying thought.

For example today, a line from a verse in hymn 178 stood out: "Love, the Golden Rule of living."

How great that would be, it prodded me to think, if this single line were placed prominently on the walls and in all the offices of the Pentagon, in the President's office...in all places of government and military installations in all nations around the world! And taken to heart?

If this powerful yet simple concept were placed above all others, what affect that would have on the world?

We don't need more bombs, more wars, more aggressive actions. It's Love that's the Golden Rule... In every plan and design, this should under-gird and support it. Any actions not derived from this rule should be scrapped and returned to the drawing board.

I also see it to be significant that one doesn't have to be religious to appreciate the practical power in this concept.

Maybe I'll call the Pentagon and offer to lead some hymn sings?! ;-)

Hymn 178 on guitar: https://youtu.be/Mvh6phuVSbA

photo credit: Photos by Angela, Singing Away