Wednesday, November 18, 2009

the evening prayer

in the evening
when i leave school
the sun is low on the horizon.

i leave by the front door
to the school.

to my right is a small bush
that has held its leaves
regardless of frosts,
winds,
rainstorms . . .

even time.

i have said goodnight
to this little bush
countless times since its planting.

and i am fairly certain
that it has heard
my simple prayer
each evening
upon straddling the frame of my bike
prior to departing:

"please
take all those whom i teach
all those whom i work with
and all those whom i love
safely home
by whatever means
so that we may continue
to share our blessings
in each others company
tomorrow".

i like to think
that the smile
that spreads across my face
is an expression
of the energy
that flows from that little bush
to me
as i leave.

the rewards of this simple act
are immeasurable

as i am reminded
of my place
and purpose
here.

of my impermanence.

and especially
of the incontrovertible knowing
that all
that i look upon,
is the surface manifestation

of love.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

and we all say amen (thats the way as a small boy I would end every prayer)

peace

Pauline said...

there is something very satisfying about talking with trees...

steven said...

his steven - in social prayer i still say amen. in private prayer i don't. it isn't a rule for myself - it's the way it's all evolved for me. have a peaceful day. steven

steven said...

hi pauline - plants and trees both (well they're both plants reall!) get to hear my voice. it's a very intimate and lovely thing. steven

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

So beautifully expressed steven. A profound example of how to live in awareness and love.

I think that is a 'smoke bush' you are communing with.

Golden West said...

We are all very fragile in this world.

Barry said...

I share your prayer for the well being of all at your school Steven.

As I am certain, does one beautiful and tenacious little bush.

ellen abbott said...

That is a beautiful post steven. I love the little prayer. I don't say amen either. I think I heard somewhere that it means 'so be it'.

Meri said...

". . .the incontrovertible knowing
that all that i look upon, is the surface manifestation of love."

Oh yeah!

Margaret Pangert said...

Hi Steven~ When you manifest love in this way, your karma will surely bring it back to you. It's interesting you chose that bush as it is magenta, the color of peace and serenity. I've been trying this week to repeat with Dan's (a Mindful Heart) video the expression of compassion statement. I understand that in Bombay and other large cities in India, you can hear a low chant all day long of everyone praying with their prayer beads. I would love to hear that someday. Om.

Jenny Stevning said...

So sweet.

Jo ~ said...

hi there! followed a link and glad I did too!

steven said...

thankyou bonnie - i think you might be right. it's got lots of growing to do yet so it'll see me through many more rides home! have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

hi golden west - i see and feel and know that mor intimately in the last eleven and a half months than at any other time in my life. then i also value life more deeply and truly and fully now. have a lovely evening out there. steven

steven said...

hey thanks barry - you know so intimately how deeply teachers carry their love for their children as well as their families! have a peaceful evening. steven

steven said...

hello ellen! thankyou and i'm glad that you get this whole small piece of my day. it's a moment. but heartfelt. have a lovely evening down there. steven

steven said...

hey meri - you get it!!! it's something i know so deeply and yeah there are all sorts of surface distractions but that's what it's about. love. steven

Linda Sue said...

Really I know better than to read your posts when I am feeling fragile- always leads to red weepy eyes, not attractive at all...but I allowed this one to catch me off guard and here I sit in a puddle of emo- really I know better...Your posts are always incredible- are you sure you are not a girl???
Love!

steven said...

hi margaret - i love colour, i love playing with it, being inside it as music or cloth or as a wrap-around a house. but is significance isn't entirely clear to me so i rely on my intuition. so thanks for the knowledge. have a peaceful evening. steven

steven said...

thankyou jenny stevning!!! steven

steven said...

hey bella - welcome - i'm glad you're here. i nipped over and looked at your two (2 folks!) blogs and was intrigued by your tendencies and also by your honesty. nice side-by-side!!!! have a peaceful evening. steven

steven said...

hello linda sue - well, i am a boy. but i was raised to be a person. not sexless. not genderless . . . but equally able to cook, sew, love my children, love this world for what it is and what it can be, to paint, write poetry, and ride bikes and then dig holes, garden, whatever a person might need to do. i am me.
thankyou for your kind comment. steven

Dan Gurney said...

I just had dinner with a friend. Part of our conversation was about my friend learning to talk to trees from a Pomo Indian elder who's done this all his life and regards it with the same ordinariness that we talk to dogs.

She's taken up the practice of talking/singing/praying to plants and says she can see their response to her love.

Linda Sue said...

Yes, you certainly are you and you are you so well! thank you for your inspiring posts, for cooking and poetry and digging holes...I repeat- le sigh* Cloning is in order...

steven said...

well linda sue i have a twenty year old son, an almost fifteen year old son and a thirteen year old daughter. that's as close to cloning a i can get!!! there are many men i know who live something like i do - they're just who they are. somehow they've avoided the stereotypes and near as i can tell, they seem happy to be who they are. thanks for all your kind words and thoughts. steven

steven said...

hi dan, there's so much that we do intuitively that gains verity from its having been a feature of the sacred practice of those who have gone before and those who see deeply into this world. thankyou so much for your thoughtful sharing of this with me dan. have a lovely evening. steven