Tag Archive for "beauty" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘beauty’

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

Mendel Baruch: S’hema on Shabbat

Posted on: June 17th, 2010 by tobendlight

I peeked. Yes, once I peeked open my eyes during the S’hema. The tradition is to focus one’s mind uniquely on this prayer. To do so, many people cover their eyes. So do I. This once, I peeked. I needed to see. What I thought I saw — could it have been real? — led to this short, short, 108 word story.

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

Mendel Baruch
One Shabbat morning, Mendel Baruch recited a perfect S’hema. His mind clear, his heart pure, his very soul declaring the unity of G-d. The entire congregation called out to heaven in love with heaven’s own words.
“S’hema Yisrael…” The chant rising from the men and women…
“The Eternal our G-d…” Almost visible, like smoke forming the script of Torah…
“The Eternal is One.” Like calligraphy drawn with song rising to praise the Holy Name.
When the words touched both heaven and earth, the angels joined the prayer. In that moment, the space between here and beyond was filled with Torah. And nothing, nothing existed but G-d’s holy word.

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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.

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.

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.”

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: My Jewish Detroit

Life as a Ceremony

Posted on: June 1st, 2010 by tobendlight

This prayer is about living a life of wonder, reverence and awe. To live life as a cermony takes commitment and focus, a unique spiritual endurance. The prayer comes from a series of prayers that i) begin by summoning introspection as the doorway to ii) the vision of life as a glorious gift driving toward iii) a commitment to service to others and to G-d. The series includes: “Life as a Symphony,” “Life as a Garden” and “Life as a Banquet.” All of these prayers appear in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The entire text follows.

Life as a Ceremony
G-d of the past,
Source of the present,
Creator of the future,
Divine light of compassion and hope,
My time is fleeting.
My days are numbered.
The course of my life unknown.
Where I am and where I’ll be a mystery.

Heavenly hand of justice and mercy,
Keeper of secret truths,
You who give purpose and meaning to all things,
Grant me the grace and vision to live my life as a ceremony,
As a river of sacred moments that command my care,
That I honor with love and respect.
Give me the wisdom to see the spark,
The splendor and the spirit around me
And to choose the path of enthusiasm, energy, gentleness and peace.

You who know all things,
Guide me with Your wisdom,
Teach me Your laws,
Show me Your ways,
So that I live a life of joy and holiness,
Treating everyone and everything with dignity and honor,
In service to Your creation.

Blessed are You, G-d of all,
Source of life and love, abundance and peace.

Postscript: I use this prayer for the 13th day of the Omer. This series also includes: “Life as a Symphony,” “Life as a Garden” and “Life as a Banquet.” All of these prayers will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Photo Credit: I See Japan…From L.A.

For Sharing Divine Gifts

Posted on: May 30th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is the third in a series of prayers that call on us to transform suffering into beauty. The two others are: “Regarding Old Wounds” and “For Healing the Spirit.” They each: i) begin with a prophetic tone calling for self refection; ii) move to personal affirmation; iii) offer the core prayer and iv) close with a “chatimah” or “seal” to reinforce the theme, the classic ending of a Jewish prayer. This prayer appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For Sharing Divine Gifts
Daughter of man,
Son of woman,
People of divine light:
What do you do with your gifts?
How do you use your radiance
And your might?
Your intellect and your passion?
Do you leave them buried within,
Untouched and unused?
Do you pursue justice and healing,
Charity and consolation?
Men of honor and purpose,
Women of integrity and strength:
Cast off your idle ways.
Banish your selfish pursuits.
Exile your vain hopes.
There is joy in every kindness,
Blessing and salvation in every gift of the heart.

Come you children of G-d,
You witnesses of wonder and awe,
There are miracles inside you,
Holy gifts of communion and grace
That yearn to burst forth in celebration of G-d’s holy name.
Answer the call to Divine service.
Then, your lives will become a blessing,
A well a love,
A source of splendor,
Abundant in joy and courage.

Blessed are You, Source of miraculous gifts,
You rejoice in deeds of the heart.

Postscript: Although all three of the prayers in this series can be said at any time of the year, they have particular relevance during the Hebrew month of Elul. I’ve also selected this prayer for use during week seven of Counting the Omer.

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: About.com Go Hawaii

My Work Remains

Posted on: April 20th, 2010 by tobendlight

This prayer is profoundly intimate. And it is one of my favorite prayers written for myself and for other men. It came out of my work at the January 2010 New Warrior Training Adventure of the ManKind Project. It is dedicated to all who participated: the new men, the staff, the leaders and everyone who made the weekend possible. To listen while you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

My Work Remains
I am not done with me.
I am beautiful.
A work of art.
A Divine gift.

My joy is this:
The canvass is not complete,
So many colors and shades,
Tones and hues,
So much bright light and
Deep shadow,
Have not yet risen to the surface.
Now, the paintbrush is mine,
As it always was,
The secret I kept from myself.

How many more
Wonderful secrets
Are inside of me?
Waiting. Ready.
Praying for me to
Paint and paint and paint,
With broad amazing strokes
And fine fancy details.

I am not done with me.
I am beautiful.
Glorious and holy,
Joyous and powerful,
Willing and able.

Brothers of this earth!
Walk with me.
Take my hand,
Feel this power,
Share this prayer.
For you too are beautiful.
A work of art.
A man.

My work remains.

Postscript: This piece could become more inclusive by swapping the words ‘brother’ and ‘man’ with ‘sister’ and ‘woman.’ That’s not the intent of this prayer. The intent is to develop, as part of my prayer writing mission, a body of prayers for and about men. Check out these prayers for men: “For the Lost” and “My Heart Knows What It Needs,” as well as a list of other prayers for and about men.

On the Trail

Posted on: April 4th, 2010 by tobendlight

On every trail, on every adventure, there’s a moment truth, a moment that tests my skills, my resolve and my dedication to the journey. This prayer includes a reminder that there are wonderful secrets waiting along the way, secrets that cannot be found anywhere else. I use this prayer for the 25th day of the counting of the Omer. This piece appears in This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

On the Trail
G-d of beginnings,
G-d of mystery and adventure,
The path is steep,
The route is hidden,
The trail a narrow ridge line,
Exposed and treacherous,
Slicing between majestic canyons,
Rising to the awesome sky.
The load is heavy, the destination unknown,
But the journey has rhythm and dance,
Song and story,
Ancient music that rises around us,
To take us from sunset to sunset
As we move into the glorious unknown
Step by step,
Moment by moment,
Day by day by day.

G-d of the wayfarer,
G-d of the traveler and sojourner,
Divine light of wonder and truth,
Lead us.
Show us the way
Across vast open spaces
And through tight, narrow passages.
Guide us.
Show us the way
Through stormy days
And moonless nights.

Blessed are You, Source and Shelter,
Guide and Compass, Oasis of Strength,
You lead Your people from trail to trail,
From trial to trial,
From darkness to light,
With love.

Postscript: My other traveler’s prayers include: “On the Road,” “For Travel” and “Being Lost.”

Photo by Alden Solovy

Posts Tagged ‘beauty’

An Amazing Life

Mendel Baruch: S’hema on Shabbat

For the Gift of Laughter

A Moment of Blessing

Life as a Ceremony

For Sharing Divine Gifts

My Work Remains

On the Trail

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