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When we think of all we have been given,
simple men and women that we are--
the kiss of love, laughter of friends,
good work to do, and more than our
small share of nature’s bounty,
we ought to bow our heads in glad thanksgiving,
fall on our knees in utter appreciation,
or, at the very least, utter a simple, silent
word of gratitude
to the Hand of Life that has blessed us
so sustainingly all these years.
But instead of striding across the face of earth
with confidence, so often
we stumble through the hours of our lives
with a vague feeling of dissatisfaction;
a craving in our soul, a hungering perhaps
for the empty calories of pride, possessions,
and position,
when all along we have been graced
by the choicest blessings there are:
the Gifts of Life, so simple,
yet so profound and true;
all that abides when our lives are reckoned
in God’s great book of days;
all that survives when we are gone,
or even when those we love are taken from us.
To drink from a chalice as bitter and as sweet
as this Cup of Life: this is the deepest call
for all children of this Mother Earth
to answer.
So answer that call by paying back the gifts you have
been given:
When you hunger, nourish your mind;
when you thirst, drink deep from the spirit’s well;
when endless cravings enfold you,
find your soul, and feed it.
The bread we eat was once a living spirit;
our communion, then, is a sharing soul with soul,
Earth and Heaven made whole,
to live again within us.
So we pause in blest gratitude this hour
to utter our word of thanksgiving
for this gift which is all ours,
not to hoard but to share, till all the world is fed
jbs
11/28/01 - 4/17/02 - 11/24/02
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