Reverently,
Consciously,
Compassionately,
I want to walk,
I want to live within the earth community.
As we begin,
I want to honour and thank all the teachers,
Formal and implicit,
Who have supported and shaped my work in graced moments.
My words are also shaped by a lifelong curiosity about the sacred and the many ways human beings have sought to live in relationship with one another,
With the earth and with mystery.
I pause for a moment and turn towards the quiet wisdom of my heart.
I remember that I am human,
That I have stumbled.
That I have sometimes caused hurt to myself.
To others and to this beautiful Earth,
Our home.
And so,
With gentleness,
I begin.
I'm sorry.
For the times I have been unkind to myself,
For the harsh words,
The impossible expectations,
The ways I have forgotten my own worth.
Please forgive me.
May I learn to meet my imperfections with tenderness and compassion.
Thank you for the life that continues to unfold within me.
For all this has brought me to this moment.
I love you.
May I learn to offer myself the kindness I so readily offer to others.
I bring to mind those whom I have hurt,
Knowing they or unknowing they.
And those whose actions have caused me pain.
I'm sorry for the ways I have failed to listen,
To understand,
To love.
Please forgive me.
May forgiveness find its way between us wherever healing is possible.
Thank you.
For what our shared humanity continues to teach me.
I love you.
May compassion soften what has become hardened.
And may we each find our own way towards peace.
And now I turn towards the earth.
This living home to which I belong.
I'm sorry for the ways I have taken without gratitude,
Consumed without thought.
Forgotten that I am part of this great community of life.
Please forgive me.
May I learn again to live with reverence.
To take only what I need and to give something back.
Thank you.
For the soil beneath my feet.
The air that fills my lungs.
The washers.
The trees.
And all the creatures with whom I share this home.
I love you.
May that love find expression in the way I live upon this earth.
May forgiveness begin within me.
Flow through my relationships and deepen my belonging to this beautiful,
Wounded,
Sacred world.
May I walk gently.
May I live gratefully.
May I love generously.
Shinawell.
Within the Earth community.
Reverently,
Consciously,
Compassionately,
I want to walk,
I want to live within the Earth community.
