Skip to main content

THOUGHTS ON PRAYER by Nancy Carlson

 I have been sitting with this poem for many months, waiting for the time for it to be said...

 Contemplating what prayer is for me and all the forms it may take, I realize that each day is a new prayer...It arrives on a beautiful snowy morning, as I offer my prayers to the Divine in my morning ritual.

And inspired my Mother Theresa’s quote, I share it with you today.

“Prayer is not asking.
Prayer is putting yourself
in the hands of God,
at his disposition,
and listening to his voice
in the depths of our own hearts.”

Thoughts on Prayer

The act of prayer
not for something I want,
desire, or desperately need
but to pray in awe
of a vastness,
incomprehensible
a true mystery
where I am held, tenderly
part of an expansive
eternal wholeness.
So big, beyond the edges
and borders
there is freedom within
a Love beyond reason.
Even in this tiniest of moments,
it is made known,
it is there, as it always was
Source, the Divine, Reality, Truth....
always present, never alone, never waiting.
So I pray
from this experience
with humility and gratitude
for being a part of this
Great Love.
in relationship with the Divine
and all others
from this knowing comes
a way of living in this world.
We are love, we are loved,
we act from love,
our perception, choices,
words and thoughts
begin to change and unfold
from a place much bigger
than who we think we are.
As Love moves through us
we pray in gratitude,
we pray to remember,
we pray for love
and for that eternal connection
and all that we do and are
becomes Devotion.




Nancy Carlson: "I am an evolving poet, writing mostly as reflection, contemplation. But most recently, as a student of bhakti-yoga, as an expression of my devotion. I work as an Holistic Nurse Coach, yoga/meditation teacher and Reiki Master. You may contact me on Facebook here or via my website 'Joyful Healing' here








~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~ 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IMAGINE A WOMAN by Patricia Lynn Reilly

  This poem invites you to look upon yourself with loving kindness… Gazing at your own true reflection, you will discover that everything you have longed for “out there” is already within you! I invite you to love your creativity fiercely. Faithfully plant seeds, allowing under-the-ground dormant seasons, nurturing your creative garden with love and gratitude. In the fullness of time, the green growing things thrust forth from the ground. It's a faithful, trustworthy process. AND it takes time and patience.  Blessed is the fruit of your creative womb! I invite you to trust your vision of the world and express it. With wonder and delight, paint a picture, create a dance, write a book, and make up a song. To give expression to your creative impulses is as natural as your breathing. Create in your own language, imagery, and movement. Follow no script. Do not be limited by the customary way things have been expressed. Your creative intuition is original. Gather

THE JOURNEY by Mary Oliver

Today we honor Mary Oliver (1936-2019) and all the words she left behind. May they inspire you on your journey!  Excerpt from Mary Oliver’s book Long Life: Essays and Other Writings : "Poets must read and study... but, also, they must learn to tilt and whisper, shout, or dance, each in his or her own way, or we might just as well copy the old books. But, no, that would never do, for always the new self swimming around in the old world feels itself uniquely verbal.  And that is just the point: how the world, moist and bountiful, calls to each of us to make a new and serious response. That's the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning. 'Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?'" The Journey By Mary Oliver  One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice-- though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug

STILL I RISE by Maya Angelou

Six years ago, I had the privilege of listening to Maya Angelou speak live on the value of poetry at the University of Florida. I share these reflections with you again today, in honor of her birthday.  I was relieved to get one of the last seats available for this rare event, having arrived at five for Maya Angelou ’s free speech at eight. The historically long line began with people settled into beach chairs in winter coats busying themselves on tablets, or eating sandwiches for dinner. As helicopters hovered above and newscasters below, I felt the excitement of realizing that thousands of people were gathering together to hear an eighty four year old black woman recite her poetry! Maya Angelou speaking at University of Florida on Feb. 27, 2013  When the curtain rose -after an overflow of hundreds were sent away- we lucky ones on the inside greeted Maya with a standing ovation, as she smiled sweetly, beginning her talk using metaphors from nature. Maya asked that we