Quiet Reflections and Prayers
Let me be
the natural peace
within my own heart,
honoring all that is
most true in me
and in you —
holding my ground
where I am
most healed.
Let all that is
in me
and all of my experiences
in the world
reflect this peace
in this moment
and the next.
Amen
When there is much
to sort through,
when we are tempted
to contract —
to pick up old habits
of playing small,
remind us
of the wholeness
we are.
Show us the tenderness
at our core
and right in front of us.
Give us courage
to be this space
of wholeness,
unfolding simultaneously
in these human forms.
Thank you.
Amen
When we have reached
the place
where words can’t go,
when we seem
most separated
by time and distance,
when the way through
all that stands between us
can’t be seen
and all that is known
is the next needed step,
let us remember
the quiet,
often silent prayers,
that led us that far
and continue on.
Amen
Just for a moment,
let’s hold what is
most true.
Let’s dust off those
wordless prayers
we keep tucked away
and raise them up —
past all the noise
on the surface
to their true place —
not to reach some
distant goal,
but just to meet,
just for a moment,
in the heart.
Amen
When what is in my heart
and yours
has gotten lost, somehow,
in translation,
may we have courage
to hold steady —
letting go and trusting
in all that can’t
be spoken.
May the words
that come back
be firmly rooted
in this place.
Amen
Let the noise
within
be quieted,
just enough —
that we may hear
our own quiet prayers
and know
without doubt
that we could never be
apart.
Amen
Let me be a reprieve
from the endless loops
of thinking and doing.
the space behind,
the place that mind
would say must be
around another bend
of more thinking
and doing
and teaching
and learning,
the place we look
right past
because we think
it should be different
or more,
because it includes
all that we would
choose to exclude.
Let me be that place
in this moment.
Amen
I hold this silent prayer
for the times
when we feel small,
when we fail
to reach past
all that seems to stand
between us —
that we may remember
to reach again
and to trust
that our silent prayers
are always spoken
and heard —
even when we forget.
Amen
When I have let go
of so much,
when my body is tired
and my spirit is too,
when I can’t see
a break in the story,
remind me of the calm
just beneath the surface,
the slightest change
of positioning,
and that little bit
of backing up
so that I may
retrace my steps
to even greater reprieve.
Amen
Let us hold
this space for healing
within our hearts.
Even as the outer world
goes through
its own transformations
and we are faced with
all that appears —
all in need
of honoring —
all that needs
to be released,
let us hold
this space
that needs nothing else.
Amen
Laurie's Notes 