We Are Born Singing

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth’s lamentation,
I hear the sweet, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation
Robert Wadsworth Lowry

We are born singing and our song unfolds as we live.

We must sing right now.

We must think of a new creation.

We must think of a creation where leaders tell the truth and collectively call for compassion. When I run outside on weekend mornings, I say “Good Morning” to everyone I pass. I feel the cool breeze of the new season. The new creation is in front of me. I open my eyes.

Find your song.

My running playlist includes several of my favorite hymns. (Not a very typical running playlist, I know.) How Can I Keep from Singing is one of the songs at the beginning of my list. Total Praise, I Surrender All, The Water is Wide, Simple Gifts, Abide With Me, and Amazing Grace and others take me to church on my runs. The beauty of the natural world and the music reminds me that something bigger is happening. Find the song you must sing, the work you must do, the generosity you must share, the courage you must act upon, the kindness you must show.

Sing for the most vulnerable among us.

The number of vulnerable people grows by the day. People seeking asylum. People whose lives have been touched by violence. People who are sick. People who suffer the pain of intolerance. Our earth.

Simply sing.

The people addressing gun violence are singing. The people reuniting and supporting families at the United States border are singing. The people strengthening and protecting access to healthcare are singing. The people creating solutions and taking action against climate change are singing. The people working for peace and reconciliation are singing. We are born singing.