You Do Not Carry This All Alone
Lyrics:
You do not carry this all alone
No you do not carry this all alone
This is way too big for you
To carry this on your own
So, you do not carry this all alone
There is so much heartache in our world today. We carry burdens both seen and unseen. And sometimes, the weight feels unbearable. Sometimes we can believe that we carry these things all alone, or that someone might not understand what we are going through so we keep it hidden.
At Chants and Cheers, we begin with the same song every time along with an invitation to sing it to different part of our individual and communal body.
This song serves as a reminder, a centering practice, a connective prayer. It is a reminder that we are not as alone as we sometimes feel; even in the lonliness or confusion of the violence that exists in the world all around us, we are still connected to each other.
The song that we sing is called “You Do Not Carry This All Alone” by Alexandra “Ahlay” Blakely.
With this song, I want to invite us into sacred listening. As you listen to the song above, or simply meditate on the lyrics, as each new verse comes along, you are invited to listen it from the following perspectives:
1. Sing to Yourself
Take a deep breath. Ground your body. Feel the earth beneath your feet. Place one hand on your heart. The other on your belly, if it feels right. Let your breath slow.
Now, sing these words to yourself:
“You do not carry this all alone.”
Repeat them gently.
This burden is too big for you to hold alone.
Let yourself receive this truth.
You do not have to hold it all. You were never meant to.
2. Sing to Someone You Love
Bring to mind someone in your life who is carrying something heavy right now. Picture their face. Hold them in your heart.
And now, sing to them:
“You do not carry this all alone.”
Let your song become a prayer. A message. A whisper of solidarity and love.
If you feel moved, send them the song.
3. Sing to a Community in Pain
Now widen your circle.
Bring to mind a community that is grieving, struggling, or burdened.
A people who need to remember: they are not alone.
That we are stronger together.
Sing to them:
“You do not carry this all alone.”
Feel the circle grow wider.
Let the weight be shared.
Let the song hold them up.
4. Hear God Singing to You
And now, come back to stillness.
As you listen one more time,
imagine these words not as yours—but as a voice greater than yours.
A voice of love. Of Spirit. Of God.
Hear your Creator, whispering to your weary soul:
“You do not carry this all alone.”
You are seen. You are held. You are not alone in your sorrow, your fear, or your pain. We have a God that cries, weeps, and sorrows alongside us. Remember that God is with you. Always.
Let us end this embodied prayer with words from Kelly Hayes, "When Things Fall Apart":
"I know that the work of justice and change making will continue. It always has. My concern, as I write these words, is that you are able to stay with us in this struggle, as we fight for what could be. There are no fairytale endings and no shortcuts. What we have is each other and our will to remake the world. I cannot tell you it will be enough, because I do not know what the future holds. However, I can tell you that we and the world are worth fighting for, and that there is love, hope, and purpose to be found in the pursuit of justice, and in the work of collective survival."
In Our Collective Remembrance that We Are Never Alone,
Pastor Eli