A Prayer for Openness

The following is a prayer based on Ted Loder's, "Gentle Us Open," from his book, My Heart in My Mouth.

Lord of life and light,
Help us not to fall in love with the darkness that separates us from you
And from each other.
But to watch with wide yes, open hands and eager minds for your Word.
Let us dream and hunger and pray for the light of you and the life
for each other.

Lord, in the midst of our white-knuckled busyness in this season,
We realize deep within us that your gifts of mercy and light, peace and joy,
grace upon grace, can only be received if we are open and receptive.

So this is our prayer, Lord. Open us. Pry us open any way you can. Shock, beguile, knock, amaze, squeeze any way you can open us.

Open us to see your glory in the coming again of the light of each day,
The light in children's eyes and lovers' smiles, the light of truth wherever
it is spoken and done.

Open us to the songs of angels in the rushing traffic, the rustle
of shoppers, in the hum of hope and the longing within each of us,
In the cries of our brothers and sisters for justice and peace, and in
our own souls' march toward goodness.

Open us to share the gifts you have given us, and to the deep yearning to
share them gladly and boldly. Open us to initiate the exchange of
forgiveness, to risk a new beginning free of past grievances, and to find
the gifts of a larger love and deeper peace,

Open us, Lord, to the miracles of the ordinary,
To the heart-pounding wonder of birth,
To a mother's fierce love and a father's tender guidance.
Open us so that we may born anew in the fullness of your image,
The fullness of a just and joyful human community,
The fullness of your kingdom,
In the fullness of time.

Amen.

A Rainbow Around the Sun!

While at Rowayton Beach in the late afternoon yesterday, I saw an amazing phenomenon. There was a faint rainbow almost completely encircling the sun! It was an inspiring sight and it lasted until just before sunset.

I did some research on this phenomenon and learned that these sun rainbows are called halos. The two very bright patches of this halo on either side of the sun are called "sun dogs." They are caused by the reflection of the sun on ice crystals and usually occur when there are high clouds. The sun dog photo above is by Jerry Walter from the wunderground.com website.

Although this was my first time to see such a sight, I learned that sun dogs are more common than rainbows. The reason I hadn't seen one before is that I just haven't looked up at the sky at the right time.

There are wondrous sights in this world if we have the eyes to see them. If we are to enjoy the world around (and above) us we need to open our eyes. This is true of so many areas of life. Openness and receptivity are great companions on life's journey.