Do not waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do you agree with Emerson? I cheerfully admit I don’t waste much time in rejection or barking against the bad, but I don’t chant the beauty of the good either. My trouble is whenever I think of chanting I think of the “Siamese National Anthem” that I learned in grammar school:
O-wa-ta-goo, Siam.
O-wa-ta-goo, Siam.
O-wa-ta-GOO, Siam,
A-a-goo Siam.
The song is sung solemnly at first, then it’s sung faster and faster…until it’s clear the singers are actually singing, “Oh what a goose I am.”
No, I’m afraid I don’t chant the beauty of the good. I do occasionally chant the joy of being silly.
What about you? Had you ever heard the “Siamese National Anthem” before? Do you ever chant?
All “Hindus”, how I dislike using the word, learn to chant a number of “Shlokas” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shloka) from childhood. I chant many shlokas throughout the day, depending on what particular mood I am in. Apart from Sanskrit, all Indian languages also have rhythmic chants and these too are learnt from childhood. I live in Maharashtra which has a rich tradition of Marathi religious songs and these are very popular with non Maharashtrians too.
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Jean, where did you go to elementary school? And can you tell me if rap music is the same or different from chanting?
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I was calling it—talk to myself. There is nobody else here during the day. I chant “Take this dish to the kitchen.” “Do these dishes before you…”
Rummuser,
I thought I didn’t chant, but after reading your comment I realize I do, every other day at the gym. Mine are nonreligious, but I make up little chants with 12 syllables each to use instead of counting as I do my exercises. The words vary according to my mood. Thanks for the insight!
I usually don’t chant around the house but I do hum and sing.
Looney,
I was raised in the Bay Area of California, but my husband knows the song and he was raised in Montana.
Yes, I would call rap music a form of chanting.
bikehikebabe,
My husband does that a lot too. 🙂
Yes I heard that Siam song when I was a kid. Haven’t heard it going around for years…….
As Rummuser says, followers of the Hindu way of life use a lot of chants or mantras. I’m married into a Hindu family, so I’ve picked up lots of them.
Catholics use a lot of rosaries, long strings of prayers. I suppose that is a form of chanting too.
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gaelikaa,
Yes, I think doing the rosary would count as chanting. One of my grandmother’s favorites was, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph have mercy on our souls.” I’m not sure why she liked that so much, but I still remember her saying it.
Jean, soon I will not only NOT chant but shut up altogether.
As a family tradition we sang under the Christmas tree which I loved, if only for the atmosphere. Unfortunately, my beloved music teacher thought me a good “Alt”, or was it “Bariton”, which was rather a pity. I didn’t want to disappoint her so I suffered many a hot afternoon singing in the school choir when really I’d rather have done something else.
As opposed to most of you I do not chant, neither do I hum or sing to myself. There is so much chatter going on in my brain that I don’t want to short circuit the grey matter: A subject you might wish to raise amongst your readers being “sensory overload”. Can’t stand it. By way of example: I will flee a shop if it’s playing music because I immediately lose concentration. Which is why I don’t shop much; thus saving me a lot of money.
U
“As opposed to most of you I do not chant, neither do I hum or sing to myself.”—U
The only thing I didn’t like about summer camp (a month) was singing around the campfire.—me
Ursula,
I agree about music in stores…I usually wear ear plugs to protect myself. Thank goodness for internet shopping, especially amazon. 🙂
bikehikebabe,
I never went to summer camp but I think I would have enjoyed pretending to sing in a group. “Pretending” because I usually just mouth the words when in a group …for the consideration of the other people. Around the house there’s no problem. 🙂
Maybe I could learn to sing yet. I just learned to whistle a month ago. I tried a few times in my life & nothing sounded. A woman in our Scottish dance group whistles tunes. I tried & it worked!!! I needed a role model.
bikehikebabe,
I actually learned to carry a tune at one point. I saw an ad in the paper for singing lessons for anyone, even for people who couldn’t sing. I took lessons from the woman for several years. It was great fun…we laughed a lot and I actually could sing on key while I took the lessons. I still remember that time fondly. Things were crazy at work and the laughs were a touch of sanity in my workweek. 🙂