For most of my life, I have had the reputation of being someone who sang loudly. As a vocalist who has spent most of my musical life singing in groups, be it choirs or vocal ensembles, I have usually tended to be in sections that are somewhat heavily outnumbered, meaning that my fairly naturally loud singing voice in those circumstances has been done with the intent to make sure that the sections were balanced. In smaller groups and especially in solo singing, the goal is more about singing beautifully rather than singing loudly, as artistry in particular becomes the main aspect of balance sought in a musical performance. Either way, the way I tend to sing varies dramatically depending on the circumstance and the larger balance. A different circumstance leads to a different solution to the common problem of how to achieve the best overall performance given the reality of the situation.

This particular phenomenon is not necessarily limited to singing. In political concerns there are many of the same problems as in singing. If we conceive of the world as being all about ourselves, then we will behave much differently than we will if we conceive ourselves as part of a larger whole. If we look to life in its balance and a concern for the overall system, and if we look at our leadership similar to our performances in being for the benefit of others through the exercise of our talents, then we have a chance of doing it right. In that case, we will not sing loud merely for our own sakes, but rather we will adopt our style to the needs of the situation, with a firm awareness of what is necessary in a given context. This requires wisdom and skill, which are not easy to come by, but which are essential to acquire.

Often in life our motivations are as important as the actual behaviors that we engage in. Yet our motivations are often mixed and are often obscure even to us. We typically have many motivations for doing what we do, and those motivations we openly proclaim or readily admit are generally not the whole story. We should not let ourselves be afraid to sing loud, but doing the reflective work of examining ourselves and the reasons why we do what we do, or even facing up to what we do, is not an easy or a straightforward task. We are also going to have to understand that even if we understand ourselves, we are going to have a hard time communicating our motivations to others.

Yet we should not let our fear keep up from singing loud. We should remember that we sing not only for ourselves but for others as well, but we should not sing timidly simply because we are in uncertain waters and in uncertain circumstances. If we are fortunate, we will not sing by ourselves forever, but will sing in duets and in larger groups as we work through the difficulties faced by people and institutions and communities and societies. Let our voices sing beautifully, and not be obscure forever, but rather let our voices ring as we turn our feelings and experiences and thoughts into beautiful song. As the song goes: “Sing loud from the rooftops, come dance on the river’s edge. Carry me over mountains, to the end of love.”