Author: Carrie

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A twilight prayer

FOR PEACE

As the fever of day calms towards twilight
May all that is strained in us come to ease.

We pray for all who suffered violence today,
May an unexpected serenity surprise them.

For those who risk their lives each day for peace,
May their hearts glimpse providence at the heart of history.

That those who make riches from violence and war
Might hear in their dreams the cries of the lost.

That we might see through our fear of each other
A new vision to heal our fatal attraction to aggression.

That those who enjoy the privilege of peace
Might not forget their tormented brothers and sisters.

That the wolf might lie down with the lamb,
That our swords be beaten into ploughshares

And no hurt or harm be done
Anywhere along the holy mountain.

 

©JOHN O’DONOHUE

From his book, Benedictus
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/store

Photo by Bowen Chin on Unsplash

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a morning dawns- slow and easy

And come the dawn,
how slow and easy the Sun-beams
Long legs of a great crab,
move through the sea of mist.

 

~ Takarai Kikaku (1661-1707), Haiku in Mad in Translation by Robin D. Gill

thank you, David Kanigan
Photo: 6:06 am. 60° F. Low tide. Weed Ave Stamford, CT.

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Looking for home

We keep looking for a home though each of us is a home. And no matter where we run, we land before each other, thoroughly exposed. This is the purpose of gravity—to wear us down till we realize we are each other. Though we think we’re alone, we all meet here. Though we start out trying to climb over each other, we wind up asking to be held. It just takes some of us longer to land here than others. Once worn of our pretense, it’s hard to tolerate arrogance. Once humbled, it’s hard to withstand a litany of “me.” Once burning off the atmosphere of self-interest, there’s a tenderness that never goes away. This tenderness is the sonar by which we sense the interior of life. This tenderness is the impulse that frees us. For anything is possible when we let the heart be our skin. The point is to feel whatever comes our way, not conclude it out of its aliveness. The unnerving blessing about being alive is that it can change us forever. I keep discovering that everyone is lovable, magnificent, and flawed.

 

—Mark Nepo, from Things That Join the Sea and the Sky

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Caregiving

Caregiving often calls us to lean into love we didn’t know possible.

I send this out tonight in gratitude for the caregivers among us, some visible to the eye and some who remain unseen and unknown. Through their hands our Love is extended in times when we cannot be present.

So many people have experienced this surrender of care, as we live in the time of invisible viruses. Throughout this country and around the world people are depending on the compassion and acute attention of caregivers. We remain separated yet those who attend to our loved ones are the bridge between us, the connection that binds us together.

May they know our respect and gratitude in this most unusual time — and always. May they be protected, while enveloped in the mist of this sickness. May we continue to find ways to honor their work in our thoughts and our deeds.

Quote: Tia Walker
Photo: Matheus Ferrero

from Gratefuness.org