Remember the days of caroling? Where groups of folks would go house to house and sing Christmas songs? The mission of caroling was to bring joy to others and to simply to have fun. Does anyone carol anymore?

I’ve always found it magical singing with others. Have you also wondered why when you sing with anyone other than alone, or even with the radio, you try to harmonize with the others or the song you’re singing with? Have you ever tried to sing along with another and keep your tune/rhythm – despite not being trying to be harmonious with the person you’re singing along with?

There’s a whole lot to unpack here about the energetics of our bodies, but for simplicity, let’s jump straight to the last page where we understand that we crave that harmony. It is our nature. Try it. Next time you’re singing along with your favorite musician, try and hold your own tune when it’s not harmonious with the song. Try to not aim for harmony.

With that, I have a fun exercise for the end of 2020 to help bring harmony, peace, joy, love and equanimity to your community.

Part I

This week, observe what ‘mood’ anyone you encounter is in, before you begin to engage with him/her. This can be your family, friends, random people in the grocery store; in person, on the phone or virtually.

First:

• Before you encounter anyone, note your own energy, the finer aspects of your mood.

Second:

• See if you can pick up on the mood of another before you make contact with him/her/them.
• Try to ‘intuit’ (guess) what mood they’re really in. Not just the smile they may flash at you. See if you can pick up the deeper underlying energy.

Then let that go. Enjoy the moment.

Third:

• Try and remember how far away they were or how long it took you before you ‘picked up’ on a mood or energy.
• Check in and see if your mood changed from the encounter.
• Do you think they impacted your mood? Do you think you impacted theirs?

Remember to refrain from judgement. This practice is all about observation only. No opinion, and don’t fish to see if you were right or wrong, as right and wrong doesn’t really matter in this exercise. It’s all about your perception.

You can do this anytime you remember. I used to do this while walking through Manhattan – and it was an awesome experience.

Next week, I’ll share Part II, where the ‘caroling’ business comes in to the story (but don’t worry – you don’t actually have to sing to anyone, not unless you want to, anyway, lol!).

xo!