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Archive for the ‘Gratitude’ Category

For A New Vision

Posted on: October 26th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is a prayer about believing in abundance, both physical and spiritual bounty. One of my most ardent wishes is reflected here: to see the world through G-d’s eyes. This is the source of enduring compassion, the source of living and loving boldly, honestly, without hesitation. I use this idea in “The Path of Righteousness.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the slider bar below. The text follows.

For A New Vision
With new vision
We see the abundance of Your world,
Blessings of heaven and earth.

G-d, help us to see the world through Your eyes,
And each other,
And ourselves.
For joy and peace,
For love and light,
That we may bring holiness into Your world.

Blessed are You, Adonai,
G-d of all worlds,
Who creates moments when heaven touches earth,
Allowing us to hear Your word,
To feel Your radiance
And to see Your divine light.

Postscript: I use this for Omer Day 18: Endurance in Compassion. If you connect with this prayer, please read “The Path of Righteousness.”

Please check out my ELItalk “Falling in Love with Prayer” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: D’vorah Horn, Omer Series 2010

These Blessings

Posted on: October 21st, 2010 by tobendlight

This prayer celebrates the blessings in my life, in our lives. To listen along as you read, please click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

These Blessings
For the blessings in our lives,
The blessings of our lives,
And the blessings of the people who are part of our lives,
We give thanks.

These gifts heal:
Silence, stillness, enthusiasm and joyful noise.
Awareness, insight, energy and resources.
The gifts of parents and children,
Of students and teachers.

These blessings nurture:
Joy, gratitude, freedom and bravery.
Trust, strength, humor and sweetness.
The blessings of honesty and kindness,
Of faith and love.

For the gifts and blessings of our lives
We sing and dance,
We shout and laugh,
And we pledge our lives in service to each other,
In celebration, in wonder and in awe.

Praised are You, G-d our Maker,
Source of gifts and blessings.

Postscript: Here’s another prayer with a similar theme: “An Amazing Life.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

On the Road

Posted on: October 10th, 2010 by tobendlight

I took buses in the wrong direction in Jerusalem twice today. The second time I landed at a bus stop an hour from my destination. I met Abebe, a 21-year-old Ethiopian yeshiva student. We talked. When he found out I was going to The Kotel he decided to come with. We walked through the Old City together at night, davened ma’ariv at the Wall and he insisted on buying dinner, schwarma with chips. As the evening ended, I asked him if there was anything I could do for him. He asked me to bless him. I did. And so we were both blessed.

On the 10^th night of our 12-day journey around Mount Rainier, Gary, Michael and I met two women at the shelter at Indian Bar. We had a blast. It was a great night of camaraderie and story-telling after a long, harrowing and ultimately triumphant day on the trail.

These moments of instant connection with strangers-who-aren’t-strangers are abundant in my life. And they surprise me every time. This traveler’s prayer celebrates the companions we meet along the way. My other prayers for travel are: “For Travel” and “On the Trail.”

To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

On the Road
G-d of the wayfarer, the traveler, the seeker,
G-d of the inner journey and the outer journey,
Holy One who sends us out to find holiness and light,
Thank You for the gift of kindness from strangers,
The presence of help on the path
And guidance along the way.
With Your loving hand
You provide signs and signals
To those who are willing to listen and to hear.

G-d of mystery and secrets,
The path has its dangers,
The road has its joys and struggles
And at times You seem too distant to reach.
For the struggles ahead we turn to You for comfort.
For the blessings of hope and joy,
Succor along the way,
We give thanks.

Blessed is the G-d of All,
You who provides fellow travelers on the journey out and the journey home,
Give me the opportunity and willingness to be of service to others along the way.
Blessed are You, G-d who provides companions on the journey home.

Postscript: For two more traveler’s prayers, check out: “For Travel” and “On the Trail.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet. Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

About the Rainbow

Posted on: October 5th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is from a series of prayer/poems written in the voice of the spiritual traveler; specifically, it’s the voice of one who has a question that doesn’t need an answer. Other prayers in this series include “About the Heavens” and “About Shabbat.” This piece appears in This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

About the Rainbow
Majestic Sovereign,
Source of beauty,
When did You decide
To create the rainbow?
Was this Your design?
Or perhaps it was a
Fantastic discovery
The moment Your Divine Light
Burst through the firmament of heaven?
Did You know that
Your Glory
Could be refracted
Through a simple lens of water?
Or were awe and wonder created
When You first saw
Your own colors,
When You gasped
At Your own brilliant light
Arching across a deep blue sky?

Postscript: Other prayers in the voice of the spiritual traveler include: “Come Walk” and “Rejoice!”

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: ScienceBlogs.com

For the Gift of Words

Posted on: September 29th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for writers and orators, another in my series of creativity prayers, including “For the Gift of Song,” which describes the common framework used in this series. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the Gift of Words
G-d, we give thanks for the gift of words,
The gift of language,
The gift of insight and emotion,
The gift of sacred communion through communication.
For it was You who spoke and the world came into being.
It was You who carved tablets on the holy mountain.
Hear this prayer for those who write to explore the mysteries of creation.
Hear this prayer for those who speak to unlock Your divine secrets.
Make their words Your vessel.
Let heaven pour wisdom and love through them
So that they overflow with Your glory,
Drawing others to Your truths.
So that when we hear these words
Our souls turn back to You in love.
Together, we offer our insights back to heaven,
And rejoice.

Postscript: Be sure to check out the other prayers in this series: “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Dance,” “For the Gift of Art,” “For the Gift of Music,” “For the Gift of Laughter,” “For the Gift of Torah Scholarship” and “For the Joy of Learning.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

For An Open Heart

Posted on: July 11th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is a prayer about love, not for love. The hope inside this prayer is remember how to love. Good for any season, it also fits for the first week of Counting the Omer, Chesed: love, lovingkindness, benevolence. I read it on the first day of the Omer when the focus is on the love aspect of love.

For An Open Heart
G-d, give me an open heart,
A generous heart,
A humble heart.
Give me a heart so free,
So fearless,
That I offer love without requirement,
To love as You love,
Holding my beloved precious,
Loving her/him in this moment exactly as she/he is,
Praying that she/he follows her/his true path
Regardless of where it takes her/him.

Give me a heart gentle and willing to love her/him
As she/he would beloved, with honor and respect,
Kindness and humor,
Joy and friendship.
Give me a love so pure and vast,
So simple and strong,
That it cherishes the love and the loving,
Asking nothing in return.

Postscript: Here are two more prayers about love, “Let Love” and “Blessing for a Spouse/Partner.”

Image Source: Unity Healing Temple

For the Gift of Art

Posted on: July 2nd, 2010 by tobendlight

From Impressionism to Dada, from sculpture to photography, from Michelangelo to Chagall to Hokusai, the visual arts are amazing. Here’s another prayer celebrating creativity. It follows the same structure as other in this series, which is explained in the introduction to “For the Gift of Song.” To listen while you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the Gift of Art
G-d, we give thanks for the gift of art,
For pencil and paint,
For glass and fabric,
For metal and stone,
For the gift that sees wisdom and beauty hidden in Your works,
For the skill and love that creates and crafts
Releasing divine radiance for others to see.
Hear this prayer for those who fashion art to reveal the secret glories of Your creation.
Make their works Your vessel.
Let heaven pour its vision through them
So that they overflow with Your light
Drawing others to Your glory.
So that when we see their works,
Our souls turn back to You in appreciation.
Together, we offer our gratitude back to heaven,
And rejoice.

Postscript: Be sure to check out the other prayers in this series: “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Words,” “For the Gift of Dance,” “For the Gift of Music,” “For the Gift of Laughter,” “For the Gift of Torah Scholarship” and “For the Joy of Learning.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

An Amazing Life

Posted on: June 29th, 2010 by tobendlight

What makes life amazing? Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, darkness and light. And the choice to embrace life with a sense of awe and wonder no matter what. This piece appears in my new book This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The entire text follows.

An Amazing Life
This is an amazing life,
A gift of moments
Precious and dear,
Profound in joy.
Profound in sorrow.

This is an amazing life,
A gift of moments
Glorious and holy,
Rich in laughter,
Rich with tears.

This is an amazing life,
A gift beyond imagination,
Fantastic stories of solitude and adventure,
Tales of darkness and light,
Psalms of frailty and endurance,
Poetry written in time and motion,
In stillness and silence,
In shouts and whispers,
In mourning and wondrous celebration.
This is an amazing life,
A river of blessings,
A gift to cherish
In awe and wonder.

Blessed are the gifts of life.
Blessed is the Giver of life.
Blessed is this amazing life.

Postscript: Here is a link to prayers of and for Thanksgiving.

Please check out my Meet the Author video and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

For the Gift of Laughter

Posted on: June 15th, 2010 by tobendlight

Being funny is a gift, a talent, a craft and hard work. Here’s another prayer for the artists who grace our lives, a prayer for the gift of laughter. It follows the same structure in my series of creativity prayers. And it was fun to write. It was fun to use words not typically found in prayers…like “guffaw” and “chuckle.” Even so, it turns out to be a serious prayer about laughter and humor. Don’t be fooled. This is, in truth, a prayer for healing. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Addendum, Aug. 12, 2014: In Memoriam, Robin Williams, July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014

For the Gift of Laughter
G-d, we give thanks for the gift of laughter
For chuckles and guffaws,
For giggles and grins,
For silliness, goofiness
And roll on the floor hysterics.
Hear this prayer for those whose
Wit and wisdom enliven and enlighten our lives.
Let heaven pour enthusiasm and inspiration through them,
So that our lives overflow with celebration.
So that when we laugh our souls turn back to You
In wholeness and thanksgiving.
Together, we offer our renewal back to heaven,
And rejoice.

Postscript: Be sure to check out the other prayers in this series: “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Words,” “For the Gift of Dance,” “For the Gift of Art,” “For the Gift of Music,” “For the Gift of Torah Scholarship” and “For the Joy of Learning.” The introduction to “For the Gift of Song” explains the common format for these prayers.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

A Moment of Blessing

Posted on: June 13th, 2010 by tobendlight

Right here, right now, at this very moment, blessings abound. This prayer is about seeing the blessings in our lives.

A Moment of Blessing
Every breath and every blink,
Every moment and every heartbeat:
Each one, a blessing.
This is a moment of blessing.
Blessings given. Blessings received.

Every trail and every vista,
Every journey and every homecoming:
Each one, an adventure.
This is a moment of adventure.
Adventures alone. Adventures together.

Every sunrise and every sunset,
Every crash of thunder and every roar of the sea:
Each one, a moment of majesty.
This is a moment of majesty.
Majesty from heaven. Majesty on earth.

Every birth and every death,
Every love and every loss:
Each one, a mystery.
This is a moment of mystery.
Mysteries hidden. Mysteries revealed.

Blessed are you, Adonai our G-d,
G-d of blessings, G-d of adventures,
G-d of majesty and G-d of mystery,
You fill our days with Your glory
And our lives with precious gifts.
Praised are You, Source of love.

Postscript: I use this prayer for the 15th day of the Omer, Lovingkindness in Compassion. See also, “Garden of Blessings” and “This Moment.”

Photo Credit: My Jewish Detroit

Archive for the ‘Gratitude’ Category

For A New Vision

These Blessings

On the Road

About the Rainbow

For the Gift of Words

For An Open Heart

For the Gift of Art

An Amazing Life

For the Gift of Laughter

A Moment of Blessing

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