Today my dear friend Karina shared a prayer offered at a summit by an old native woman:
"We are one with you Creator, one with all and you are love. May we look in the mirror and see you. And may we look at the trees and see ourselves. For we are all one."
Once I memorized a poem because I wanted the words to take over my life and change it. It took me a month of careful repetition and uninvited recitals before it flowed fluently from my lips. I hoped to carry those words into the eternities. I have a new piece to pack into my soul's suitcase...
My whole life I have started nearly every prayer like this:
"Our Kind Dear Heavenly Father,
We are grateful for today and for our many blessings. Please bless..."
Now I start my prayers a different way with a newer focus. I've heard it described that the prophets of the Bible were poets and the words they left behind are really just Holy poetry (which we have mistakenly taken as prose). That always impressed me. I feel that too, is what prayer is...or could be. What is poetry but the soul describing it's truth - what is prayer but the soul describing it's truth?
And when I heard this prayer, it stirred something from deep within me - an ancient and lost knowing, perhaps.
We are one with you Creator,
One with all and you are love.
May we look in the mirror and see you.
And may we look at the trees and see ourselves,
For we are all one.
Sometimes I replace "the trees" with "the lonely" or "the poor" or "the addict" or "the fatherless" or"the jerk". Sometimes I replace "Creator" with "Savior" or "Kind Father" or "Heavenly Mother".
And then I move into specifics - the "Thank you fors" and "Please blesses"- or at least that's the imperfect plan. My imperfect attempt at prayer and poetry.