When we know ourselves to be connected to all others, acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do.
Quote: Rachel Naomi Remen
compassion
Keep watch
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary,
bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted,
shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.
May we be aware of all who journey through these nights working, watching and weeping. For the caregivers, the doctors, the nurses and the chaplains who stand by the bed of those who are struggling to live – breath by breath. For the loved ones, the parents, the children, the neighbors and the prayerful who must stand outside the doorway – concerned and scared.
May we offer our strength and hope to these people who rise to their sentinel call as the sun sets. From the top of a lighthouse to the rail of a bridge, these are the people who focus in the dark to comfort and protect those suffering and weary.
May we pray for the arrival of relief. Relief in the form of healing, in the joy of reunions and in the return of peace and comfort around home’s hearth.
Prayer found in Episcopal Book of Common Prayer
Photo: Wendy Claire Barrie
Devastation….
I understand…
Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather superstorm or spiritual superstorm, when we look at each other we must say, I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other and empathize with each other because each of us is more alike than we are unalike.
Maya Angelou
willing to be changed
we are in a time when listening is so important. with a willing ear and tender heart – may we learn from one another and, together, change the world.
Quote: Mark Nepo
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
