Tag Archive for "adventure" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘adventure’

Soarbird

Posted on: September 17th, 2011 by tobendlight

A flight of fancy. A song of the spiritual traveler. A few words from the one who prays in song, in rhythm, in metaphor. It’s a companion piece to the prayer/poem “Bird is Bird,” which begins this way: “Bird is bird. Sky is sky…” Both are flights toward quiet, toward calm, toward peace.

Soarbird
Soarbird, sing.
Heart music.
Drum beat. Chest beat.
Magic rhythm.
Secret song.
Magic flight.

Soarbird, wing.
Sky music.
Pulse beat. Heart beat.
Magic thunder.
Wind song.
Magic whisper.

Soarbird, rest.
Night music.
Silent. Still.
Magic being.
Love song.
Magic becoming.

Soarbird, sing.
Sun music.
Light. Air.
Magic motion.
Freedom song.
Magic sight.

Postscript: See also: “Bird Song at Midnight,” “First Bird” and, of course, “Bird is Bird.”

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 by Alden Solovy

Israel Soon

Posted on: June 11th, 2011 by tobendlight

On Sunday I leave for Israel. This trip is about connecting with people and the land and healing from a raft of losses: my wife z”l, my job, my home. My joy and excitement at how the trip is shaping up are beyond my expectations. Through the power of the web – email, Facebook, my website – I will reconnect with old friends and will meet and stay with people I’ve never physically met, friends of friends, the family of friends and Internet pals who have opened their homes. Some of the trip is planned, some will simply evolve while I’m there. Thanks to the many, many people who have helped along the way.

I plan to continue to post new prayers for the three weeks that I’m gone, but I have no idea what will actually happen. To celebrate the start of my journey, here are links to three prayers about Israel:

“Israel: A Meditation” – On the love of Israel our people and our nation
“Jerusalem: A Meditation” – On the joys and sorrows of our sacred city
“For Peace in the Middle East” – A hope for the future

And here are links to three prayers about travel:

“For Travel” – A traveler’s prayer
“On the Road” – For the blessing of meeting people on the journey
“On the Trail” – The awe and wonder of physical and spiritual treks

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column. For notices of new prayers posted here, please subscribe. To read four to six mini-prayers each week, as well as notices of new prayers posted to the site, please join the To Bend Light fan page on Facebook.

Bird is Bird

Posted on: June 1st, 2011 by tobendlight

Mid-afternoon, late September, on a long forest climb. The mountain trail took a sharp right giving way to a steep exposed slope and an unseen ridge line. At the top, nothing but shimmering blue sky and a lone bird. Sometimes the spiritual traveler will say a prayer with his eyes, with her heart, with his breath, with her being. And it doesn’t sound like a prayer at all.

Bird is Bird
Bird is bird.
Sky is sky.
You are You.
I am I.

Sun in East.
Sun in West.
Morning glory.
Evening rest.

Moon by day.
Moon at night.
Heaven’s mirror.
Earth’s delight.

Bird in air.
Bird in flight.
Holy motion.
Sacred sight.

Blue the sky.
Blue the sea.
Who will listen?
Who will be?

Postscript: Other prayers of the spiritual traveler include: “Come Walk,” “Leaving,” “Remember” and “About the Rainbow.”

Photo by: Alden Solovy

Transitions

Posted on: May 9th, 2011 by tobendlight

Last night I tossed in bed, half awake, half asleep, in prayer. It wasn’t fun. When I woke, more like emerging from a semi-hypnotic state, my first thought: write that dream as a prayer. It was impossible. Words were the lesser part of the experience. It was an ebb and flow of thoughts, emotions, images, love for my daughters, for my family, for myself, love of G-d, fear and joy, dread and hope, pride and shame, mystery and light. What I captured is my sense of that prayer, which resonates with humility and endurance. The prayer itself is beyond my reach. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Transitions
G-d of sacred moments,
G-d of endings and beginnings,
Hear this prayer for guidance and deliverance
As my life moves in new directions,
Onto new paths,
Into uncertain water.

Grant me courage as an answer to fear,
As the winds blow,
Strength as an answer to doubt,
As the storms gather,
And wisdom as an answer to uncertainty.

Grant me grace in the face of obstacles,
As fires rage,
Patience in the face of detours,
As the earth trembles,
And trust in the face of the unknown.

Grant me joy in my successes,
As the sun warms the land,
Humor in my defeats,
As the cactus opens a flower,
And acceptance throughout my days.

Grant me faith in Your guidance,
As songs lift my heart,
Gratitude for Your works,
As love lifts my life,
And joy in Your gifts.

G-d of Old,
Rock and Shelter,
My time is a blink,
My journey a puff of wind,
My life fragile and fleeting.
Therefore,
G-d of Secrets,
Grant me delight,
Luminous, majestic delight,
In using these blessings
In service to Your Holy Name.

Postscript: I use this prayer for the 26th day of counting the Omer. My other prayers about transitions include three favorites: “Leaving,” “River” and “Rhythms.”

Photo Credit: NOAA Photo Library

My Child Leaves Home (A Parent’s Prayer, Revised)

Posted on: March 20th, 2011 by tobendlight

Tomorrow my daughter Dana moves to Los Angeles. She’s lived with me for three months between college and career. This prayer was first written and posted last year. In the past few weeks I’ve become more keenly aware of the array of emotions captured here: joy for Dana’s achievements, concern with my own life transition. Here it is in Dana’s honor, revised (tweaked, really) based on comments from readers.

My Child Leaves Home (A Parent’s Prayer)
Holy One,
Heavenly Guide,
My daughter / son is leaving home
To begin the adventure of an independent life.
Bless her / his journey with joy and wonder.
Let opportunity open like a rose before her / his eyes.
Be her / his compass and her / his shield.
Lead her / him on a path of discovery
Guided by the love of Torah,
A commitment to mitzvot,
And dedication to the Jewish people.
Bless her / him with mentors and teachers,
Companions and friends,
Scholars and rabbis,
To support and guide her / him along the way.

In this marvel,
In this glorious moment of growth fulfilled,
My heart struggles with contradictions:
Pride and fear,
Joy and grief,
Love and loss.
The landscape of my life is shifting,
Offering new challenges and new choices
In the very moment my child departs.
Give me the wisdom and the strength to honor my own life
With gentleness and courage,
And to embrace the beauty and promise of the time to come.

G-d of our fathers and mothers,
G-d of sacred transitions,
Bless my daughter / son
_______________ (child’s name in Hebrew or your native tongue)
As she / he sets out on this new life.
May she be a blessing to her / his [new] community.
Lead us back to each other often,
With stories of marvelous moments and amazing discovery.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Who watches over the lives of our children.

Postscript: As I noted (more eloquently) after the original post, this is a prayer of affluence. The ability to send a child to college, or help to launch her into the world, is a blessing in itself.

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column.

For notices of new prayers posted here, please subscribe. To read four to six mini-prayers each week, as well as notices of new prayers posted to the site, please join the To Bend Light fan page on Facebook.

The Mountain of My Heart

Posted on: March 5th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is another in my series of prayers for men. The title comes from a memoir of my 15-day journey on Mount Rainier, the same trip that yielded the masthead photo for this site. To listen to this prayer, click on the triangle in the bar below (website only). The text follows. Other prayers for men include: “My Work Remains,” “For the Lost,” “We Share the Same Pain” and “My Heart Knows What It Needs.”

The Mountain of My Heart
The mountain of this earth
And the mountain of my heart
Are one journey,
A sacred trail,
Dangerous and delightful,
Treacherous and beautiful,
A passage to mystery, awe and wonder.

Men of justice and mercy:
Hear the call to action.
Forge honesty to kindness,
And receive the gift of joy.
Weld strength to gentleness,
And receive the gift of freedom.
Bind power to patience,
And receive the gift of courage.
Link gratitude to service,
And receive the gift of love.

The mountain of this earth
And the mountain of my heart
Are one journey.
A wondrous adventure,
Glorious and holy,
Joyful and abundant,
A celebration of creation and reunion.

In reverence for our fathers,
With respect for our brothers,
I humbly pray for the wisdom and vision,
Passion and humor,
Grace and dignity,
To live a life of honor and integrity,
A man among men,
Tasting the sweetness of these gifts.
Sharing them in devotion.
Living them in peace.

The mountain of this earth
And the mountain of my heart
Are one journey.
Radiant.
Abundant.
Divine.

Postscript: Here’s a link to all of my prayers for and about men.

Please use these prayers. See “Share The Prayer!” in the right hand column.

Let Joy

Posted on: February 10th, 2011 by tobendlight

Here’s a prayer about joy, first posted for Purim and Adar. It’s also great for Sukkot, the time of our rejoicing. This prayer is part of a series including “Let Truth,” “Let Holiness,” “Let Love” and “Let Torah.” Each invokes a prophetic voice and ends with a divine call to action. Please listen along by clicking on the triangle below. The text follows.

Let Joy
Let joy spread across your face,
Flash from your eyes,
Beam from your lips.

Let joy quiet your heart,
Sooth your lungs,
Relieve your chest.

Let joy flow through your bones,
Awaken your nerves,
Caress your flesh.

For joy is in the dawn and the dusk,
The silence and the great expanse,
The flow of light from G-d’s grace,
Divine wonder and awe,
Calling out to you dear sisters and brothers:
‘Awake you slumberers!
Awake you who sleepwalk through hours and days,
Blind to hope and love.
Have you forgotten Sarah’s laugh and Miriam’s song?
Have you forsaken Jacob’s dreams and Ezekiel’s visions?’
Have you succumbed to fear and shame?

This, then, is G-d’s command:
Let joy hold you,
Carry you,
Burst forth from your words and deeds.
Let joy take you from season to season.
Dance and sing,
Celebrate and rejoice,
Lifting your life with exultation.
Let joy be your light and your lamp.

Blessed are You, G-d of joy.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

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.

River

Posted on: November 19th, 2010 by tobendlight

This simple prayer/poem is an extended metaphor for the interior landscape of challenge and change. It will appear in my forthcoming book, Song of the Spiritual Traveler. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

River
River and free.
River and free.
Current and rapid.
River and free.

Ocean and gone.
Ocean and gone.
Storm and gale.
Ocean and gone.

Tide and return.
Tide and return.
Whitecap and wave.
Tide and return.

Eddy and flow.
Eddy and flow.
Headwater. Backwater.
Eddy and flow.

River and free.
River and free.
Boat and paddle.
River and me.

Postscript: Please click here to read other prayer/poems from the voice of the Spiritual Traveler.

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. Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Credit: U.S. Forest Service / John Hutmacher

We Share the Same Pain

Posted on: November 9th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is an invitation, an invitation to men to bond as equals, as brothers, as friends, sharing our deepest pain and our deepest fear. It’s posted today to honor the men of the November 2010 New Warrior Training Adventure held by Chicago Community of The ManKind Project at Camp Ronora, Mich.

Please listen along as you read. (Click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.)

We Share the Same Pain
Brother,
You do not know me…
And you know me.
I do not know you…
And I know you.
We have travelled different roads,
But they are paths across the same landscape,
Trails across the same terrain.
Joy and anger,
Pride and shame,
Fear and love.
Our fathers and their fathers
Faced the journey of the heart alone,
Without the guidance of their brothers,
Without the wisdom of the generations.

Brother, we share the same legacy and
We share the same pain.
That is all I need to know
To love you today
For who you are and for who you can become.
Hurt, but not broken.
Still able to find the deep root of majesty within,
The gift of passion and power,
Radiance and joy,
Directed toward a life of service.
You know me.
I know you.
Let us share the challenge,
The journey,
And the victory.

Postscript: Check out these prayers for men: “My Work Remains,” “For the Lost,” “We Share the Same Pain”and “My Heart Knows What It Needs,” as well as a list of other prayers for and about men.

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column.

Being Lost

Posted on: October 24th, 2010 by tobendlight

Here’s a simple prayer for safety.

Please listen along as you read. (Click on the triangle in the slider bar below. The entire text follows.)

Being Lost
The trail has narrowed,
The path has faded,
And You, G-d of Old,
Are my trusted Guide.

I am not lost, but I’ve lost my way.
I am not gone, but I’ve gone astray.
Help me to find the way back to
Safety and shelter,
Family and friends.
Protect me,
Strengthen me,
And give me endurance,
So that I may return to a life
Of service and love.

Postscript: My other traveler’s prayers include: “On the Road,” “On the Trail” and “For Travel.” “On the Trail” is one of my favorites.

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column.

Posts Tagged ‘adventure’

Soarbird

Israel Soon

Bird is Bird

Transitions

My Child Leaves Home (A Parent’s Prayer, Revised)

The Mountain of My Heart

Let Joy

River

We Share the Same Pain

Being Lost

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