Gratitude: November 18, 2007

11/18/07

We are, O my God,
but tiny seeds which You have sown
in the soil of Your love,
and caused to spring forth by the hand of Your bounty.
This seed craves therefore,
in its inmost being,
for the waters of Your mercy
and the living fountain of Your grace.
Send down upon it,
from the heaven of Your loving-kindness,
that which will enable it to flourish beneath Your shadow
and within the borders of Your court.
Thou art That Who waters the hearts of all
Your plenteous stream
and the fountain of Your living waters.
Praised be to God,
the Glory of the worlds.

Adapted from Baha'i prayers - Bahá'u'lláh

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God;
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise;
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth to all generations.

Oludumare, oh Divine One! I give thanks
to You, the one who is as near as my
heartbeat, and more anticipated than my
next breath. Let Your wisdom become one
with this vessel as I lift my voice in
thanks for Your love.

african - yoruba

There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning,
in the chapel of eggs I cook
each morning,
in the outcry from the kettle
that heats my coffee
each morning,
in the spoon and the chair
that cry "hello there, Anne,"
each morning,
in the godhead of the table
that I set my silver, plate, cup upon
each morning.

All this is God,
right here in my pea-green house
each morning
and I mean,
though often forget,
to give thanks,
to faint down by the kitchen table
in a prayer of rejoicing
as the holy birds at the kitchen window
peck into their marriage of seeds.

So while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest it go unspoken.

The joy that isn't shared, I've heard,
dies young.

welcome morning - anne sexton

You spoke to me today, my Beloved.
You blessed me by revealing an aspect of Your countenance.
From the bush by the side of the trail, You call out to me,
stopping my movement, stilling my legs, transfixing my gaze in awe.
I see jeweled beads of rain from the night's storm, lying sprinkled on leaves
Like translucent crystal gems arranged in unique patterns
on hundreds of oval green velvet carpets.

You draw my eye to embrace each one, from the very smallest -
smaller than a grain of salt - to the largest - fully ripe like round pearls.
Each one perfect and perfectly placed.
Some defy gravity as they cling to the edge of a leaf.
Others line up like the gemstones of a necklace strung along the leaf's center line.

And then you begin to speak so that I would understand.
And you lead me to know that each droplet, regardless of size or position,
is like a human soul, irreplaceably precious in Your eyes.
Though seemingly distinct, each is lovingly fashioned
from the same essence, the water of Life.

You whisper that though apparently separate, each is connected with all others
through the unified web of leaves, stems and branches that form a whole plant.

Each is nourished by the same roots and earth, air, water, and sun
all of which You sustain and nurture in Your resplendent heart.

Oh My Beloved, Oh ever Faithful One, thank you for Your blessing that
opens my eyes to see and understand the workings of Your love.

ronald bedrick - april 2004

Hazrat Inayat Khan: “It is a patient pursuit to bring water from the depth of the ground; one has to deal with much mud in digging before one reaches the water of life.”

Imagine that you find yourself walking on a woods trail, just before dawn after the first snow of the year. The oak leaves crunching beneath your feet let snow nestle in their crinkled bowls; the pines bow slightly in their new fleece. You reach up and pinch a little snow from their branches, and the freshness of its cool taste on your tongue startles you. Not far away you can hear a not-yet-frozen waterfall flowing with the full force of recent autumn rains. Everything else remains hushed, except for one sparrow who greets the snow with her own sweetness.

Where is water not to be found in this woods world? It adorns the branches and runs through their vessels. It forms fleeting clouds with each breath you exhale, and with each inhalation you can feel in your mouth how you yourself are made almost entirely of water. It runs through the streams that lead to the source of the water you drink. You could not live without its physical sustenance, but neither could you be truly alive without its beauty. As the goblet is passed and you are blessed with water and bless the person next to you – say a prayer of thanksgiving for the water that keeps us all alive.

WATER BLESSING

We call you ocean.

We call you sea, gulf, strait, bight,
bay, lagoon, river, falls, creek,
stream, lake, pond, spring.

We call you rain.

We call you pool, puddle, snowflake,
glacier, dew, mist, cove, channel, inlet,
cascade, brook, tributary, bayou, tarn,

H20.

We travel your powerful currents
to meet our relations.
We flood our rice fields.
We bathe our children.
We cleanse the dead.
We baptise, we purify, we do ablutions,
We immerse in the mikvah.
We heal with you - Holy Water.

We remember to protect you.
We remember to protect you.
We remember to protect you.
We remember to protect you.

prayer to protect water - claudia l'amoreaux

The sun shines down,
and its image reflects a thousand
different pots filled with water.

The reflections are many,
but they are each reflecting the same sun.

Similarly, when we come to know who we truly are,
we will see ourselves in all people.

amma

Cover my earth mother four times with many flowers.
Let the heavens be covered with the banked-up clouds.
Let the earth be covered with fog;
cover the earth with rains.
Great waters, rains, cover the earth.
Lightning cover the earth.
Let thunder be heard over the earth;
let thunder be heard;
Let thunder be heard over the six regions of the earth.

american indian - sia - invocation to the u'wannami