The Story of Freedom Song
by Anna Bariyani
The Freedom Song was written in April of 2020, during the first month of the pandemic, when the entire world was in lockdown and nobody really knew what was going on.
We were in this worldwide quarantine, watching the streets turn ghost quiet, the shops and schools close, seeing how society shut down, we were amazed to witness the world just sort of stop. There was this unknown, invisible something that had beckoned us all into submission, stopped the clockwork of our modern life and removed any rush or urgency towards anything else but what was upon us all. Any kind of planning was pointless, all of humanity was suddenly so united in the present moment. How inspiring that was. How inspiring it was to see what moved out of the stillness. How incredible it was to hear reports of clear sky in Shanghai for the first time in decades, or witness the canals of Venice be filled with clear water and hosting dolphins again, or see packs of wild deer graze in the empty roundabouts of London. To see nature take back what it rightfully owns, if only for a short while, was a revelation. As if Mother Earth herself had sent us all to our rooms to make us think about what we have done.
It reminded me of the tipi prayers of indigenous ways and wisdom. Those ways are close to my heart, as they always revive the deep hope and trust in me. Trust in the great unfathomable sacred design of life, trust in the great mystery of all existence, and that we humans in our essence are benign. Hope that the sacred balance of nature will somehow restore the balance of our planet, and that all the madness that has taken a hold of our collective humanity is healed. I remembered the cosmic perfection of those early mornings in the tipi, the alignment of the elements and the prayer, the family circled in humbleness, gratitude and awe, as we are blessed with the ancestral remembrance of and profound respect for the true values of life.
Indigenous peoples all over the world know the value of nature and its sacred design, their traditions have secured their communities with songs, stories and customs that remind each generation of what the purpose of being human really is. To take care of the garden of nature, to be a peace-keeper of the land, a defender of clean water, air and soil, to ensure that health and harmony reside in our being. They know that all living beings that share this planet as a home are connected in tapestry of meaningful relations, like a family. They know the Earth to be the great planetary mother that will birth, feed and nourish her children for as long as she is alive. They know that, as such, she is an heirloom to pass on to the future generations, and for as long as we are alive, it is our sacred duty to be guardians of the garden of life that is our home in this mysterious universe.
Even though the pandemic stormed the the planet for over 2 years, causing a lot of mess, grief, loss and confusion, I cannot help but wonder if its teachings was lost on us. All tragedies and hardship come with teachings, and if we do not learn and integrate those teachings, they will continue to appear and re-appear and make life difficult for us, until we learn our lesson. I am a forever optimist and a believer in mysterious ways, and I fiercely and lovingly cultivate the hope that the seeds of awareness, courage and righteousness has been planted deep inside the collective consciousness through these times of darkness and turmoil. I stubbornly believe the sweet winds of the invisible world will continue to whisper wisdom and truth to our hearts, and gently stir our rigid stagnation, so that the memories in our bones begin to sing again. I hope those memories of our true purpose will pour out of the music as pure medicine to heal our collective amnesia, and make us long for and respond to, seek and defend, that which is true, good and sacred. I believe in these turbulent times, as prophesied by all ancient cultures, to have the power to ignite the fire in our souls that somehow will lead us home to the Eden this planet essentially is. So I cultivate this prayer through all my creations. Freedom Song is the anthem of hope, a joyous ode to the vision of that new world, the chant of the wild free spirit calling its destiny - to go home and be a sacred world family.
For all our relations - may it be.
FREEDOM SONG IS OUT ON ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS ON JUNE 21 2022
Press Kit
Photos and biography are avalible for press. Please contact info@curawaka.com if additional material is needed.