By Dennis Rivers, Oregon

May I use
this painful moment,
to love more deeply

May I use
this painful moment,
to see more clearly

May I use
this painful moment,
to act more creatively

That all may be lifted up.

Amen.

By Dennis Rivers, Oregon. He adds: “We have within us a power of love greater than we know and much larger than who we think we are. That deep love hidden within us, is the sacred gift that we were born to offer each painful situation into which we will be thrown.”

Illustration by AI + Dennis Rivers.

Seven Stars to Guide Us

Here are seven stars to guide us,
inspired by the Prayer of St. Francis,
and focused on the inward path of every heart:

FOR THE SAKE OF MY OWN WELL BEING
AND FOR THE SAKE OF EVERYONE’S WELL BEING…

1. This moment and this day
may I walk the path
from blind anger to calm awareness.

2. This moment and this day
may I walk the path
from obsessive resentment
to expansive forgiveness.

3. This moment and this day
may I walk the path
from paralyzing fear
to courage inspired by love.

4. This moment and this day
may I walk the path
from doubt about external security
to faith in the Power of Life within me,
the same Power that makes all things new.

5. This moment and this day
may I walk the path
from the isolation of seeing everyone as a threat,
to the community of embracing everyone as kin.

6. This moment and this day
may I walk the path,
from embarrassment and humiliation
in the eyes of others
to remembering that we are all evolving stardust,
capable of turning every mistake
into an opportunity to grow.

7.  This moment and this day
may I walk the path, from a disappointed
and wounded sense of entitlement,
to a deepening gratitude for the whole wide world,
for Breath, and Earth, and Sky and Life.

For each breath can be received
as an amazing gift from the Universe,
waiting to be transformed
through our journey into the Light
into something kind, creative and beautiful.

May we begin
with this present breath!

By Dennis Rivers. Illustration by AI + Dennis Rivers. 2024 
Public Domain ;  EarthPrayer.net/prayer-evolving/seven-stars/ 

Someone asked me recently when was it that I first awakened to the spiritual side of life.
 
I have a vivid memory from my time as a student in France. I was 19, and several of us were invited to be companions to kids at a nearby orphanage. In several visits, I connected with a boy of eight. In our final afternoon together he went to his bureau—container of all his worldly possessions. 

He brought out a rare, treasured postage stamp and handed it to me: Un cadeau pour toi, “A gift for you.” 

I was so touched. I pulled out my wallet and found a memento I prized. “Great! We’ll trade,” I said.

His was crestfallen, his eyes filled with tears. “No, not a trade… it’s a gift. I want to give it to you.” I stopped breathing. Oh… I had denied him the experience of giving. In my discomfort with the vulnerability of being the receiver, I’d reflexively moved to equalize the relationship. Unaware, acting out of my own feelings, I’d walked on his feelings… and his dignity. 

More than fifty years later, I am still brought to stillness by this memory. I denied the gift of the stamp; I could not deny the gift of the learning. There’s something more going on here… it’s not just about what my limited, if well intentioned, ego can comprehend.

I didn’t have words for that experience at the time, which was part of its power. Now, the Sanskrit greeting Namaste comes to mind: “The place in me of love and truth and light greets the place in you of love and truth and light.” 

At a given moment, we may be wearing particular hats, like server and served, but we are all in this together…and deep down we are all the same.

—Chad Glang, Ph.D., lives a retired life in Colorado. He works with stained glass, hikes, bikes and camps. He practiced counseling psychology for 40 years.