open - inaugral blog

The beginning of  this journal is much like how I start anything I have written, somewhere in the middle of a thought. Today I have been thinking about some friends and family of mine, each faced with difficult personal struggles and situation - and how that as much as I wish that I could take their pain and suffering away from them, I know that I can't. Sometimes it is necessary to go through very difficult situations in order to grow. Of course no one would really wish that on someone else, no matter how simple or complex the suffering might be, but it is definitely a part of life, the way that events in our lives unfold. In the midst of thinking about these people - who hold very dear places in my heart - I was sorting through some paperwork, and found these two prayers that I wrote four years ago. Originally the prayers were for my best friend at the time - now I send it out to him again and to the others. The first one is not a typical prayer, but acknowledges the struggle of humility through difficult experiences, and the second one is more "conventional".

Before you, I humble myself
lay my life before you like stones
spilling from a river bed
uneven... some polished from tumbling
in the current, others broken into shards
still others somewhere inbetween...
lying this closeto the ground I can breathe
the pungent soil through the pours of my skin
the gift of my heart burns like the sun
splashed against the late afternoon sky
what is there to cool it?
what holds me from releasing it
like the wind through the feathers of a bird in flight
or the sudden sweet caress of the ocean's embrace
around the dropped pebble?
to sink or fly - where is the difference?
this fear strangles me, will I succeed this brutal moment
or dash away into hiding once again?
arrogance laces each step taken while playing small
I pray help me accept this gift of humility

~

I see you before me full of life and healthy
body mind and spirit are in harmony
the unconditional love of the universe flows through you
you are light
you are loved
happiness fills your heart
sorrow dissolves with each breath
love replaces fear within you
peace replaces anger
joy replaces sadness
hope replaces despair
may you be safe
may you be happy
may you be at peace
may love touch every aspect of your life, of your being
may love touch the lives of everyone who touches yours
may the infinite wisdom of your spirit heal you
be well dear one and walk with peace

~
12.08.02
Leigh-Anne Tyson