Write a Prayer-a-Day Project

Today may we not only feel gratitude, but may we live it as well.  May we live as if the feelings and desires of others matter as much as our own.  May we live without petty grudges.  May we practice patience.  May we eat responsibly.  May we conserve resources.  May we make repairs.  May we laugh and praise.  May we smile and warmly greet .  May we be curious and inquisitive.  May we suspend judgement.  May we give freely.  May we live simply, and simply live.  These are the qualities of gratitude, and for their practice we are grateful.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

Life is lived on many levels: there is the conscious world of our day-to-day activities; there is the sub-conscious world of our dreams and our phobias; there is the spiritual realm in which we feel connected to something bigger; and there is the organic domain, in which we are nothing more than processing plants, in-taking elements, processing them, and releasing energy and other refined elements.  The Magic of life is that our inter-connectivity vertically transcends all these territories.  In the conscious world, one persons actions often directly affects another person.  What we say and how we are will reside and manifest in the sub-conscious, connecting us tomorrow.  These manifestations will influence how we view and explore the world spiritually.  And the air we breathe and the food we eat will combine, recycle, and morph into new compounds for eternity.  May we embrace this cosmic ballet, this ongoing hum that is the resonance of Being, and know that we are, each of us, truly immortal.  For atoms and molecules we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

At times our sorrows feel as if they know no bounds, or that we will never again shed their burden.  And the platitude ‘time heals all wounds’ is not absolute: there are hurts we will carry with us for a lifetime.  So let us seek to make ourselves whole with our pains, and not seek to jettison them as quickly as possible.  When we shield ourselves from that which causes us pain, we also suppress that which brings us joy.  Life is lived on a continuum, and unless the pendulum swings from one end to the other, it hangs lifelessly in a stagnant stupor, with no energy and no purpose.  May we embrace the fullness of life.  For feeling we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

Old McHuman had a prayer, ee-ay ee-ay oh!

And in this prayer he said some words, ee-ay ee-ay oh!

With a word word here and a word word there

Here a word, there a word, everywhere a word word,

Old McHuman had a prayer, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

And in this prayer there was a tear, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

With a tear tear here and a tear tear there

Here a tear, there a tear, everywhere a tear tear.

Old McHuman had a prayer, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

And in this prayer there was some joy, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

With joy joy here and joy joy there,

Here a joy, there a joy, everywhere joy joy!

Old McHuman had a prayer, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

And in this prayer there was some fear, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

With fear fear here and fear fear there,

Here a fear, there a fear, everywhere fear fear.

Old McHuman had a prayer, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

And in this prayer there was much love, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

With love love here and love love there,

Here is love, there is love, everywhere love love!

Old McHuman had a prayer, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

And in this prayer there was some thanks, ee-ay ee-ay oh.

With thanks thanks here and thanks thanks there,

Here is thanks, there is thanks, everywhere is thanks thanks!

Old McHuman had a prayer, Blessed, Blessed Be! Amen!

‘Comfort me’ is the prayer on the lips of many.  And where does the discomfort lie?  It lies primarily in broken relationships, whether they are between people, between a person and their body, or that deepest relationship within us, connecting us to our inner-most self.  The superficial wounds of the flesh can be made right easily enough, and this pain will pass.  When we wound our psychological or spiritual self, the comfort will be more difficult to find.  May we stay on our spiritual path so as to find ultimate comfort.  May we wear our skin authentically, complete with scars and imperfections.  May we make the peace within that will enable the peace beyond.  May we love ourselves.  For peace and comfort we long, and ultimately give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

A prayer of exploration: may our desire to discover be insatiable.  May our courage be steadfast.  May our bearings not fail.  May we inventory our resources.  May we boldly move forward.  May we remember where we’ve been.  May we be present to where we are.  May we greet the natives with respect and regard.  May we honor their traditions.  May we share our journey.  May we be content if we find ourselves back where we began, in a place wholly new.  For discovery we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

We are called to do right by each other – may we answer the call.  May we attend to our relationships with the care and concern they are due.  May we forgive others.  May we forgive ourselves.  May we breathe in peace, may we breathe out love.  May we be reckless, may we be careful.  May we laugh freely, may we mourn daily.  May we improve our minds, and may we expand our hearts.  Let us live out this day as if it were our first and our last, with wonder, with reverence, in grace and in gratitude.  For our daily blessings we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

Let us not write a prayer; rather, let us compose them.  For writing implies some kind of conscious effort, an intellectual endeavor.  Prayer must be mystical, authentic, and divinely inspired.  The finest prayers are never spoken – they are felt.  Prayer resides in a tear, in laughter, and in gentle touch.  Prayer is present in anger and frustration.  Prayer imbues the act of lovemaking.  Prayer is in fact love-making: wherever, whenever we commune with deep truth, there is prayer.  So let us abandon the notion of clever prayer, and instead seek to nurture organic prayer.  For our new Green-prayer movement we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.

In our moments of deepest despair and utter loneliness, may we always find comfort in the knowledge that we are not alone, that we are interconnected; to each other, and to all life that has ever been and ever will be. In this sense, we are immortal, and no harm can come to us. May we know that this eternal aggregate is Love, and that we are surrounded by it, imbued with it, and made of it. Love is eternal. Love is God. Love abides. May we freely share our burdens and our sorrows, and know that tomorrow we will be born again, not to suffer, but to thrive. For Love Eternal we give thanks. Blessed Be, and Amen.

May we be born again into this new day.  Each morning marks the opportunity to live into our finest selves, to broaden our perspectives, and to deepen our love.  The flurry of activity that awaits us conspires to distract us from these possibilities, and distracted we will be.  Prayer will help us by sending gentle reminders throughout the day of what it is we hold sacred.  And through this practice, the reminders will come more frequently, and when we need them the most.  So pray!  Not for riches or favors or considerations: pray to be reminded that we are human, doing the best that we can, and seeking to be a little bit better today than we were yesterday.  For prayer we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.