Monday, September 15, 2008

School philosophy song

Here is the song we sang at LS all-school settling in this morning. I wrote it to help lower schoolers understand and remember the main points of the CFS philosophy, which can be found here in its entirety. It also represents my first venture into songwriting since college... thanks for the inspiration, CFS staff retreat!

Silence, peace, simplicity,These are the things that we believe.
Equals in spirit, each one of a kind,
We search for the truth as Friends in the light.

Silence
Silence is golden, or so they say
Well, we use our silence every day
We use it to center, to settle, to calm
To help us feel peaceful and get along.

Spirituality of Life
All life is precious on this, our green earth
We all share seasons of life, death, and birth
Despite all our differences, this we believe:
The light within you is the light within me

Chorus

Peace
If all life is sacred, it's easy to see
That if I hurt you, it also hurts me.
We can end war, if we start right inside
Be kind to ourselves, and let love be our guide.

Simplicity
The things that we own can get in the way
Of friendship and truthfulness, learning, and play.
So when we have gifts, it's better to share.
Just look in your heart--your true wealth is there.

Chorus

Uniqueness
Each one of us has our very own way
Of seeing the world, of living our days
But we come together in one community
To learn from each other in sweet harmony

Truth Continually Revealing Itself
Truth can be found wherever we look,
Sometimes in nature, in friends, or in books.
Some find it in dancing, in music, in art--
And within ourselves, if we search in our hearts.

Chorus
Here are the chords. If you are a LS parent or staff, your kids should be able to sing you the melody!

Chorus:
D Em
A D
D G
A7 D

Verses:
D Em7
A D
D G
Em D A7 D

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Joanna,
Wow! What an inspiring and moving song. You've captured many ideas and beliefs in simple, elegant language and music.
Many kudos.
John Ladd