I recently listened to a story told by author and speaker Glennon Doyle Melton about a canary. Her grandfather was a miner and they used to bring a caged canary down into the depths of the mining tunnels in which they worked. The canary was very sensitive to toxins. If the canary stopped singing while down below in the mines, the workers knew there were toxins and they had to leave the area.
There are canaries among us. In previous cultures they may have been referred to as seers, wise old souls, healers. They can become quickly overcome by the toxins of everyday life and lose their ability to sing. Dr. Elaine Aron, a psychologist who has extensively studied the psychology of love and close relationships, would call these canaries highly sensitive persons.
There can be ranges of sensitivity just like there can be ranges of song for the canary. Whether you identify yourself as a canary or not, we all have the need to recharge…to find again the strength of our song that has become silent due to the accumulation of toxins in our lives. It may be sitting beside the healing waters of the sea, taking a brisk run, escaping into the pages of a good book, splashing paint upon a bare canvas…the possibilities are as endless as we are unique.
In what areas of life have you become like the canary who has lost her song? How will you recharge? How will you regain your song?
“Sometimes I think, I need a spare heart to feel all the things I feel.”
Sanober Khan, A Thousand Flamingos
