A Prayer - Now

[Boss]

to see a world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wild flower
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour
Blake

Or say that the end precedes the beginning
and the end and the beginning were always there
before the beginning and after the end
and all is always now...
T.S. Eliot

L-rd of the Universe,
be in me as I am in you
Know me as I know you
Breathe of the same crisp morning air
Unite men as they are united in you
When I behold my yellow rose, it is you I behold

Be still and know I dwell in your tent
I am formless, like you
I dwell in today, and today only,
and this is where you live
The house of tomorrow shall never come
The hour of yesterday shall not return

L-rd help me
I am afraid of myself
I detest mine own heart
I am impatient, ignorant, arrogant
I implore you

You implore yourself, for I am you
As you are me
Brokenness is found in all things
Pain never lies
Crack it open,
then your essence is free

Many years ago we set down a covenant
I have waited in the teeming rain, the burning sun
All to no avail
When shall my time come?

Your time is here now
It came before you were conceived
Before the antelope ran free
Before the ice moved over the pond
Before the stars were set in motion

I ask you, what of her?
Shall we dance again?
Shall we embrace, love, again?

She never left you
Though you walked different paths,
you live under the same rainbow
the same ocean cools your heels

And L-rd, what of my Earth?

She is safe
You are the farmer. As you till the earth, know, I am the plough
You are the blacksmith. As you work the metal, know, I am the bellows
You are the artist. As you paint, know, I am the canvas
You and your neighbour, you shall keep her safe
And it will be your labour
As it will be mine

[lizzytysh]

Dear Adam ~


Your prayer exchange is exquisite.



Love,
Lizzy

[Boss]

I really wish it was 'exquisite', Lizzy. It could be so much more.

Lizzy, while prayer may inspire people, it is courage which feeds them, courage which disarms them, courage which builds roads and shelter.

And evil, it lurks in Man's heart. It is heritage. Tell me, is it prayer or is it courage which extinguishes it?

I suspect you answer, "It is both". You would be right. But without Love, both are impotent. Love bears all things. Love is.

[lizzytysh]

Hi Adam ~

For me, being able to 'spell out' a prayer like that is exquisite... for you, it could be so much more; for me it is...

Yes, I agree that love is the substance and essence of all. Exquisite.


Love,
Lizzy

[Boss]

There were four hundred gulls in the crowd, frightened at what had happened, and the cry DEVIL! went through them like the wind of an ocean storm. Eyes glazed, beaks sharp, they closed in to destroy.
"Would you feel better if we left, Fletcher?" asked Jonathan.
"I certainly wouldn't object too much if we did. . ."
Instantly they stood together a half-mile away, and the flashing beaks of the mob closed on empty air.
"Why is it," Jonathan puzzled, "that the hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free, and that he can prove it for himself if he'd just spend a little time practising? Why should that be so hard?"
Fletcher still blinked from the change of scene. "What did you just do? How did we get here?"
"You did say you wanted to be out of the mob, didn't you?"
"Yes! But how did you. . ."
"Like everything else, Fletcher. Practice."


By morning the Flock had forgotten its insanity, but Fletcher had not. "Jonathan, remember what you said a long time ago, about loving the flock enough to return to it and help it learn?"
"Yes."
"I don't understand how you manage to love a mob of birds that has just tried to kill you."
"Oh, Fletch, you don't love that! You don't love the hatred and evil, of course. You have to practise and see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and to help them see it in themselves. That's what I mean by love. It's fun, when you get the knack of it."


Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Richard Bach

[Steven]

to see a world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wild flower
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour
Blake

Or say that the end precedes the beginning
and the end and the beginning were always there
before the beginning and after the end
and all is always now...
T.S. Eliot

Adam,

Along the same theme as the above quotes, someone with "Leaves
of Grass" handy, can probably post some complementary lines by
Whitman.

About extinguishing evil, "extinguishing" is an abolute word and,
in this context, problematic on a practical level. But, displacing or
dissolving it, that's a different story. "Courage" and "prayer," in those
respects are useful, along with love which is an antidote to evil.

[Boss]

Thanks for your views, Steven.

I am not a particularly well spoken man. I am also not well read. My life has been the cause of this.

Language is a gift, it expresses, opens things up; but paradoxically, it restricts. There simply is no adequate description of "Love" with words. We approximate it - and even then it is invariably weak.

With these thoughts in mind, for me, the word "extinguish" is okay. Love can extinguish evil, it's doing it right now. That's practical enough for me.

[Steven]

Adam,

Nicely said. I'm not well read in many areas, myself.
You communicated beyond words.