Tag Archive for "time" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘time’

Another Year: An Introspection

Posted on: December 29th, 2016 by Alden

For the New Year: a meditation on the passage and the use of time. Have I spent this time wisely? And what have I learned? This prayer appears in my CCAR Press book, This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. This prayer is about living with integrity.

Another Year: An Introspection
Another year slips away,
As do they all,
Day by day,
Hour by hour,
Moment by moment.
Many used wisely,
Many wasted.

Another year opens,
As do they all,
With anticipation,
With wonder and amazement,
With excitement.
With consolation.

Was last year so different from the one before?
What will the New Year bring?
What will I bring to the New Year?

This I pledge to myself:
Love is my answer to grief,
Hope is my answer to loss,
Strength is my answer to fear,
Honor is my answer to slander,
Action is my answer to injustice.

This I pledge to you
My sisters and brothers:
To see you as you are,
To respect your journey,
To hear your truth,
To stand with you in dignity,
To walk with you as a companion and friend.

This I pledge to You
G-d of my ancestors:
To seek Your wisdom,
To follow Your command,
To obey Your Law,
To observe Your Sabbath,
To rejoice in Your works,
To do Your will.

G-d of time and space,
Another year slips away,
As do they all.
Another year opens before me,
As they all do:
With one hundred choices,
One thousand possibilities
And one sacred duty.
Life. This life. My life.

Postscript: Here’s another prayer “For the New Year” and a meditation called “In This Turning.”

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: jansenphoto

Let this Day

Posted on: January 3rd, 2016 by Alden

As we move from celebrating the arrival of a new secular year to living day-to-day, here’s a prayer about making the most of our time here on earth. May 2016 bring us all blessings and peace.

Let this Day
G-d,
Help me to use this day wisely,
And with care,
Planting laughter in the hours,
And dedication in the moments,
In service to You,
In service to myself,
In service to humanity.

Let my inner wisdom shine
And my talents burst forth,
Bringing the gifts You gave me
To the works of my hands
And the works of my heart.
Let this day be for blessing.
Let this day be for healing.
Let this day be for joy.

G-d,
My time is like water in the desert,
Precious and scarce,
Giving life, giving hope.
Let this day be for creativity and discovery.
Let this day be for curiosity and imagination.
Let this day be for excitement and adventure.
So that the heavens smile on me
And Your creation calls me ‘friend.’

Postscript: Here are more prayers about time and using time wisely: “Leaving,” “Arriving,” “Now,” “Another Year: An Introspection” and “In This Turning.”

Tweetable! Click here to tweet this: “My time is like water in the desert, precious and scarce…” http://bit.ly/1P9hJeS Prayer for using time wisely by @ToBendLight

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Photo Source: Klau Library Hebrew Union College, as appearing in the Jerusalem Post

Chayei Sarah 5773: Gather Me

Posted on: November 10th, 2012 by tobendlight

“And afterwards, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.” – Genesis 23:19

“And Abraham expired and died in a good old age, old and satisfied, and he was gathered to his people.” – Genesis 25:8

Both Sarah and Abraham pass away in this week’s parasha. Here’s another meditation on preparing for death, focused on the comfort in the idea of being gathered to our people. My other meditations in preparation for death include: “Remember,” “Near the End: A Meditation” and “Things Break.”

Gather Me
Gather me unto my people,
The house of my ancestors,
The dwelling of our fathers and mothers,
The generations of our people.

This is my comfort,
O My Rock,
This is my consolation,
O my Redeemer,
That my bones will not be left behind,
That I will join the millennium,
And will reside in Your loving embrace,
In the abode of comfort and grace.

Gather me unto my people,
Unto my history,
Unto my legacy and my longing.
Let my heart and soul
Rest in peace.

Postscript: Note the reference to Genesis 50:25, in which the children of Israel vow to take Joseph’s bones out of the land of Egypt, and Exodus 13:19, which is Moses’ fulfillment of that oath. See also: “Remember,” “Near the End: A Meditation” and “Things Break.”

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Photo Credit: Chabad Jewish Center of Massachusetts.

For Summer

Posted on: July 10th, 2011 by tobendlight

A prayer for the new season that appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. Other seasonal prayers that appear in This Grateful Heart include: “For Winter,” “For Summer,” “For Autumn” and “For Rain.”

For Summer
Heat and light,
Day overtakes night,
Warm air settles over the earth,
The land vibrant with growth.
Your creatures build and thrive.
Mornings, alive with motion,
As warmth surrenders to heat.
Nights, bursting forth with wonder.
Bless this day, God of seasons,
Bless the summer with energy and vitality
So that all of Your creatures
Enter the coming seasons
With the fullness of Your bounty.

God of time and space,
May this season be a blessing and a teacher.
Make me like the land,
Fertile with sustenance and beauty.
Make me like the midnight sky,
Sparkling with ancient gifts.
Bless my days with service
And my evenings with rest.
Make me like the summer dawn,
Vibrant, awake, vital and ready.

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Postscript: Other seasonal prayers that also appear in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day include: “For Winter,” “For Summer,” “For Autumn” and “For Rain.”

Photo Source: Gary on Our Monthly Photo Album

Things Break

Posted on: March 26th, 2011 by tobendlight

Each day we face the flow of endings and beginnings. G-d’s love remains. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Things Break
Things break. Things die.
People break. People die.
The end approaches
Sometimes swiftly,
Sometimes slowly,
Sometimes secretly,
Sometimes in plain sight.

Things thrive. Things live.
People thrive. People live.
Vitality flows from the heavens.
Energy reaches up from the core of the earth.
Love shines from the center of my heart.

G-d of time and space,
All beginnings lead to endings.
All endings are beginnings.
Grant me the wisdom to see life as a sea
Of losses and gains,
A tide of joy and heartache,
Birth and death,
Illness and recovery,
The sacred and the profane.

G-d of All,
Glorious and Holy,
Things thrive, things break.
People live, people die.
Your love is Eternal.

Postscript: These prayers are also about beginnings and endings: “Leaving,” “Arriving,” “Now” and “Near The End: A Meditation.”

Spring, Again

Posted on: March 16th, 2011 by tobendlight

Spring arrives again on March 20, 2011. Here’s a prayer for the season. To listen as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For Spring
Shimmering, radiant air
Alive with new warmth.
Sunshine waking the earth,
Calling the grasses to grow,
Bulbs to prepare flowers.
Winds clear the last remnants of seasons past,
Old leaves and dry branches
Making way for new life.
And the rain joins the sun to feed the land.
Bless this day, G-d of seasons.
Bless the Spring with energy and hope.
Be present with us as we celebrate the glory of creation
Planting the land and our lives with Your gifts,
These gardens of holiness and love.

G-d of time and space,
May this season be a blessing and a teacher.
Make me like the sunshine, a source of light.
Make me like the earth, a source of bounty, ready to give.
Bless my days with service and my nights with peace.
Make me like a garden,
A source of beauty and purpose,
Sustenance and splendor.

Postscript: Other seasonal prayers include: “For Rain,” “For Autumn,” “For Winter” and “For the New Year.” This prayer was first posted on March 23, 2010.

For the Arrival of Shabbat

Posted on: January 26th, 2011 by tobendlight

A prayer to celebrate the gifts of Shabbat. The closing lines are from Shalom Aleichem. Please listen along as you read. (Click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.)

For the Arrival of Shabbat
Well of Life,
Bless my heart with the gifts of Shabbat,
The presence of Your love in my pulse,
Your glory in my chest
And Your wonder in my breath.

Bless my eyes with the gifts of Shabbat,
Seeing the beauty of the candle sticks,
The Kiddush cups and challot.

Bless my lips with the gifts of Shabbat,
Rejoicing in song and prayer,
Singing melodies ancient and new.

Bless my ears with the gifts of Shabbat
Hearing hymns and praises,
The nigunim of old,
And blessed words of Torah.

Bless my soul with the gifts of Shabbat,
Awe and thanksgiving,
Calm and surrender,
Beauty, righteousness and peace.

Let these gifts descend gently on all Your people Israel,
So that together,
Wherever we may be,
In one voice
From the four corners of earth we sing,
Boachem l’shalom
Malachay ha’shalom,
Malachay elyon.

Postscript: You may enjoy these two short, short stories about Shabbat, “Sarah Rivkah: A Challah Baking Story” and “Mendel Baruch: S’hema on Shabbat.”

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Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

History

Posted on: January 23rd, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer celebrates the gifts of history and memory. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

History
History is sacred,
Memory is holy,
Time is a blessing,
Truth is a lantern.

Source of sacred moments,
Creator of time and space,
Teacher, healer and guide:
Thank you for the gift of memory,
The gift that allows us to see beyond the present,
The gift that allows us to remember our past,
And to remember our lives.

Thank you for the gift of vision,
The gift that allows us to imagine the future,
The gift that allows us to learn and to teach
The lessons of the ages,
The lessons of millennia,
So that we may heal ourselves and the world.

Eternal G-d,
Thank you for the gift of history,
The gift of ancient moments and modern tales.
Grant us the wisdom and understanding to see history in the light of truth,
To trust the enduring power of memory to guide us from generation to generation.

Postscript: Here’s a link to a prayer called “Remember,” as well as links to a trilogy of prayers called “Leaving,” “Arriving” and “Now.”

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.

Photo Source: UT Arlington Library

Another Year: An Introspection

Posted on: December 30th, 2010 by tobendlight

20120327-kryptomorphaics-introspection-2_mg_3874 For the New Year: a meditation on the passage and the use of time. Have I spent this time wisely? And what have I learned? Contrast this meditation, which is about living a life of integrity, with another New Year meditation, “In This Turning,” which is about love. Here’s another prayer “For the New Year” and another called “A New Year Begins.” To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. This prayer appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day.

Another Year: An Introspection
Another year slips away,
As they all do,
Day by day,
Hour by hour,
Moment by moment.
Many used wisely,
Many wasted.

Another year opens,
As they all do,
With anticipation,
With wonder and amazement,
With excitement.
With consolation.

Was last year so different from the one before?
What will the New Year bring?
What will I bring to the New Year?

This I pledge to myself:
Love is my answer to grief,
Hope is my answer to loss,
Strength is my answer to fear,
Honor is my answer to slander,
Action is my answer to injustice.

This I pledge to you
Dear sisters and brothers:
To see you as you are,
To respect your journey,
To hear your truth,
To stand with you in dignity,
To walk with you as a companion and friend.

This I pledge to You
G-d of my ancestors:
To seek Your wisdom,
To follow Your command,
To obey Your Law,
To observe Your Sabbath,
To rejoice in Your works,
To do Your will.

G-d of time and space,
Another year slips away,
As they all do.
Another year opens before me,
As they all do:
With one hundred choices,
One thousand possibilities
And one sacred duty.
Life. This life. My life.

Postscript: Here’s another prayer “For the New Year” and a meditation called “In This Turning.” Please consider purchasing my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

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 Credit: jansenphoto

Now

Posted on: December 29th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is the third of a three-part meditation about the rhythm and flow of life. These meditations are written to be recited in order: “Leaving,” “Arriving” and “Now.” Please listen along as you read. Click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Now
This is now.
Always now.
Now and now and now.
The arrivals and departures
That bring me here
And take me way,
Are only dreams and memories,
Windows and smoky mirrors,
Distractions from the pulse of this moment.

What is this thing called now that always leaves,
That always arrives,
That changes and stays the same,
That is always present, ripe and waiting?
This is now.
Always now.
And the world is full of
Now and now and now.

Oh to live in this life,
This wondrous river of gifts.
This being. This becoming.
This shimmering light of awe and thanksgiving.
Let the currents flow,
Let the tides shift
And the moon rise and set,
So that now stays vital, vibrant and alive
With joy and grace.

Postscript: Take a look at my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Posts Tagged ‘time’

Another Year: An Introspection

Let this Day

Chayei Sarah 5773: Gather Me

For Summer

Things Break

Spring, Again

For the Arrival of Shabbat

History

Another Year: An Introspection

Now

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