Prayers, Meditations, and Mantras for Love
For Day 23 of the “30 Days of Love” we asked our supporters to “Write a prayer, meditation, or mantra expressing the challenges you face, or your hopes for a better world.” We received a resounding response, with 46 beautiful submissions. Three individuals with particularly inspiring words will receive a copy of “Thou, Dear God”, a collection of prayers by Martin Luther King, Jr. Here’s just a sample of the words that were shared with us:
Submitted by Katherine Harris of Sunland, CA:
Today I will remember
What I shared with you
Not what I lost when you were gone.
Today I will think Of the light and laugher
Not the sighs and sobs
Today I will do
The things wished for me
Not say later, later
Today
Today
Today
Submitted by Amanda Udis-Kessler of Colorado Spring, CO:
Great mysterious Spirit of Love, be with me today and all days. Open my heart, move my hands, speak through my mouth, and awaken my mind to prepare me for the work of love, caring and justice in this broken and beautiful world. Sustain me when I am afraid. Goad me forward when I retreat into old ways of being that are unloving to myself or others. Help me see all that is extraordinary about this world that I may be filled with awe and gratitude. Help me serve the world, humbly and with joy. Give me courage to work toward wholeness and healing, my own and the world’s. May it be so.
Submitted by Carol Ehrlich of Kensington, MD:
When I awake, may the Light break through my cloudy eyes.
When I rise up, may the Light illuminate my way.
As the Mystery leads me through our sorriows, traumas, fears, may the Light shine upon the Love that stands amidst our pain.
May the Mystery hand me over to Love.
As Love embraces me, may the Light reveal the path for me to bring Love to others.
May Love embrace us all, so we will know what the Mystery knows:
Love leads us, heals us, strengthens us.
Submitted by Barbara Finch of Santa Barbara, CA:
May I greet each new day with an open heart that knows its own pain and recognizes the pain of others. May I breathe deeply, inviting the suffering of the world to rest with my own in that place of great love where compassion embraces sorrow and guides it toward gentle acceptance. May the tiny flame that burns within my soul become a beacon of hope when there is a need to chase the darkness or find a different path. May love shine always through my smile and may I offer it graciously wherever this journey takes me. Amen.
Sumitted by Robin Taylor of Rochester, MN:
Remind me, remind me, remind me
To take a deep breath and put a smile on my lips and picture you as the wondrous soul you truly are
Before I open my mouth to criticize.
Submitted by Lisa Flanagan of Normal, IL:
My wish is that love wins over hatred and intolerance; that social justice becomes the law of the land; that everyone is allowed to love the people they love, and that we learn more about the people that are hard for us to love and like, and find tolerance for them in our own hearts.
Submitted by Colleen Fay of Mt. Rainier, MD:
Dear God, You are love both in feeling and in action. Teach me to love as you love, fully, without reservation and with every fiber of my being. Let me be your vessel of love to those of your children who need it most: the tormented, the forgotten, the lonely, the sorrowful. And let me, Dear God, love with a smile and a laugh, but with such tenderness that when another person cries, I may taste the salt. Use me as you will, Dear God, for when I love those whom you love most I am closer to being the person you wish me to be. I ask this in your most holy name. Amen.
Submitted by Caitlin Turner of Tulsa, OK:
Oh God. Let me love more clearly. Open my heart like a canyon. Guide me to your infinite love and allow me to follow you. God, bring me to a radical love, one that changes my mind when it’s stuck on fear. Keep me near love. Supply me with a treasure of love to share.
Submitted by Wilderness Sarchild:
There is no time not to love,
No time not to say “I love you.”
No time not to open your mouth,
Open your eyes, open your fists.
No time not to care, to desire,
To fall down on your knees in anguish for what is already lost.
No time not to write a poem,
Sing gloriously out of tune, and not just in the shower.
No time not to dare to walk into the fire,
That place you must go,
That thing you must do,
Even though every bone in your body
Screams “NO!, not this, not now!”
There is no time not to go outside,
Talk to trees,
Lie face down in the dirt, I mean, eat the dirt
And know you are being fed from your Mother’s womb.
There is no time not to hold a baby,
Smell the newness of hope reborn,
Touch the future that you will not be part of.
There is no time not to skip down the street,
Blow bubbles in the grocery store,
Or dance as if your heart isn’t broken.
There is no time not to say “I’m Sorry, you were right,”
Or “I want to hear what you have to say”
Or just “I see you.”
There is no time not to love.
Submitted by Joy Christi Przestwor of Bakersville, NC:
My Beloved Spirit guide, as I gather myself for a new day, a new week beginning, may I intentionally listen more deeply, smile wider, laugh louder, and love unconditionally all life that crosses my path each and every moment of this day and each day to come!
Thanks to everyone that shared their beautiful prayers, meditations, and mantras with us!
