I’ve quickly learned that babies make usual ritual very difficult, especially if you’re like me and were used to doing quiet devotionals just about every day! I’ve had to explore new ways to engage in my spirituality. I’ve found nightly prayer to be a fulfilling, mildly meditative practice. But how to include my pre-verbal little one?
Enter my new daily ritual – singing to the sky each morning!
Every day, Bee and I get up and we head to the nursery to change her diaper. The sun is usually shimmering into the room, filter by her green curtains. One day I spontaneously broke into “Good Morning Starshine,” a song originally from the musical Hair and made famous by a 60’s singer named Oliver.
Our morning repertoire changes some days depending on the weather. On rainy days, I’ve started to sing an old Pagan classic, “We All Come from the Goddess.” Where the sunny psychadelic classic is very fun and gets us both ready for the day, our rainy day song is very meditative. No doubt I’ll soon erupt with “Winter Wonderland” or something similar!
Music is a great way to introduce little ones to any concept, spiritual or not. Parents are used to including lullabies into their routines. Really, those are protective charms chanted over little ones before dreamtime. Why not have special songs for the morning to mentally prepare for the day, or call attention to nature, as well?
What do you sing to your children?
Author M. A. Phillips 
As a baby, mine had an inexplicable fondness for murder ballads. I sang anything and everything, mostly folk and as it occurred to me. He seems to have come out mostly unscathed.
That’s adorable. 😉