Dear friends,
Each of us woke up today to the magic that is the unearned gift of our existence.
Our circumstances vary.
We are female and male,
And some are in between.
Old and young,
And some in between.
We are rich and poor,
Some in between.
Black and white,
And many shades between.
These are differences to be celebrated,
Welcomed with enthusiasm,
Not to be feared.
In some extraordinary way,
All of us are at this stopping point,
This stopping place,
On a journey between the wonder of birth and the mystery of death.
Today,
Just now,
In this moment,
We are all one,
All experiencing the wonder,
The amazement that is our life.
In this,
And whatever our circumstances are,
We are blessed beyond imagining.
Let's have a one minute pause for reflection.
Welcome back.
This quote is attributed to the Buddha.
If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly,
Our whole life would change.
May we open our minds to the blessing that is the unearned gift of our life.
If we have the gift of sight,
May we explore the world around us as if we are seeing it for the first or the last time.
If we have the gift of hearing,
May we pay attention to the sounds of the world around us,
And the voices of the people around us,
As if we are experiencing the world of sound for the first or the last time.
If we have the gift of smell,
May we explore the varied scents of the planet,
As if we had arrived as visitors from another world.
Just consider for a moment a baby,
How the baby touches and feels and explores everything that comes to hand.
Toys and anything else that's placed beside a baby introduces the little one to its new exciting world.
Not a moment is lost in carrying out the exploration.
When did we last carefully examine the different textures and the colours of the objects around us?
We have reached out into the depths of space,
And we are rightly thrilled at the information and the photos our probes are sending back.
But we can take the wonders of our home planet for granted,
Not to mention all that can be seen and appreciated right outside our doors.
There is only one Earth,
And there is magic here for us,
If we can just recapture the childlike ability to pay attention.
Let's relax for 60 seconds of quiet gratitude.
Welcome back.
This increased awareness of the everyday blessings that surround us will fill us with a sense of gratitude.
We'll see the everyday miracles,
And we will be enthused by that.
We'll naturally be inclined to spread that happiness around.
A quote from Maya Angelou.
The thing to do,
It seems to me,
Is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in someone else's cloud.
Somebody who may not look like you,
May not call God the same name you call God,
If they call God at all,
May not dance your dances or speak your language,
But be a blessing to somebody.
That's what I think.
Words of Maya Angelou.
So in light of that quote,
May you be a blessing to everyone you meet today.
May you bring light to every difficult situation.
May you be a place where someone can find refuge in a storm.
May you be a quiet listener,
A comfort in someone's time of grief,
A source of someone's hope.
May the world be a little brighter tomorrow,
Because you have woken up to the gift of this new day.
Let's spend another minute reflecting on how we can be a blessing.
So the message of this meditation is simple.
We are blessed beyond measure,
Beyond our wildest dreams.
Each of us has in our possession what Mary Oliver describes as this wild and precious life.
She asks us,
What will we do with it?
So what will we do with this life of ours?
We don't have to imagine or worry about a lifetime of good work,
Though that can be the happy result of what we do day by day.
We just have to resolve to be a light in the world today.
That's all that's asked,
Taking one day at a time.
I'll leave you now with this Irish blessing.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
Slow to make enemies,
Quick to make friends.
But rich or poor,
Quick or slow,
May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.
Namaste.
