Write a Prayer-a-Day Project

Today is a good day for redemption.  Not because we are mired in sin or degradation, but because we do not always live up to our full potential; we are not always our best selves.  Redemption does not imply some sort of ultimate salvation: it means we will re-engage with the social covenant to respect human worth and dignity, our own and that of all others.  We will practice compassion and share our love, and the world – even if it just our own little world – will be a better place.  For our redemption we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

Let us be open to vulnerability.  We avoid being vulnerable, as it feels dangerous to us.  And yet we cannot selectively close our hearts to shame, fear, and uncertainty without also closing it to love, joy, and hope.  Life is an all-in stakes game – play, or leave the table.  May we choose to play for all we’re worth; may we ante-up each day, take our seat, and play the hand we’re dealt.  It is a game in which we can only win.  For whole-hearted living we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

May today bring us new dreams, new aspirations, and new hope.  May it also bring the knowledge that our hopes are attainable in one form or another.  Let us not be disappointed if we do not recognize that our dreams have taken on a new form, fulfilled in some unexpected way.  Let us seek our blessings in the mundane, and know that we have been successful in spite of what we may have first believed.  Perspective is everything, and for that we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

Salvation: you keep using that word – I do not think it means what you think it means.  We speak of salvation as if we are being ‘saved,’ but the root is to ‘salve,’ to soothe, to comfort.  Let us seek salvation in this lifetime.  Let us work to salve a world that is inflamed with intolerance, that is burnt by disenfranchisement.  Rather than be another irritant to the rash of indifference, let us instead be the balm of compassion.  Let us heal rather than harm.  May we find our common Salvation in this great garden of Eden in which we all live.  For salving we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

For abundance and generosity we give thanks.  Truly we receive when we give – there is no expectation of reward, other than the knowledge that we have done right by each other.  May we keep this fundamental truth at the front of our hearts.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

For warmth and comfort, for friends and for each other we give thanks.  May we remember to be kind and generous in return.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

May we guard against boredom this day: if our time is precious, how great a sin is boredom?  If we are listless, how can we shift our focus to a worthy enterprise?  We need not be constantly active, or trying to solve some great problem.  And yet, the sense of boredom suggests we’ve become completely disengaged.  As we grow in spirit in the fullness of time, we owe it to ourselves and to each other to be present and mindful – we need never be bored.  Let us resolve to wipe out boredom in our lifetimes!  For engagement we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

Let us remember that forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts we can give to each other.  Forgiveness is an active verb, to be offered rather than asked for.  We will often regret our actions, and we must appropriately apologize.  Forgiveness must come from the offended, genuinely and unconditionally.  May we offer our forgiveness often and abundantly, to heal ourselves and to heal each other.   We are thankful for Forgiveness.  Blessed  Be, and Amen.

Let us enjoy warmth, not for fear of cold, but rather in celebration of cold.  Let us not fear darkness, but rather rejoice in its opportunity to seek light.  The cosmic pendulum swings ever on, and we must step to its cadence.  To resist the divine metronome is to forever be out of step with Life.  So may we go with the ebb and flow; may we rise and fall with the tide of infinity.  And may we rejoice in its motion!  For the rhythm of God we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

May we eat and drink deeply at the table of Life.  Let us seek out new experiences, for in so doing we are building our own narrative.  Life is memories; memories are moments of intense feeling and revelation.  They are created only through experience, so the more we Do, the more we live.  But let us also make our adventures of the utmost quality, by experiencing them completely, so the we are Be-ing in the midst of our Do-ing.  For the promise of new adventure we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.