Prayer

My friend and former pastor, Robert Close, sends out a nearly daily e-pistle to his congregation and friends. This morning's derailed a perfectly good idea for a blog about another reading for this weekend's training. His call to seeking the wisdom within is not new, either to him or to me, but something about this Stephen Mitchell translation of the 121st Psalm, which he included in his email, stopped me in my tracks.

Bonsai SunriseI look deep into my heart,
to the core where wisdom arises.
Wisdom comes from the Unnamable
and unifies heaven and earth.
The Unnamable is always with you,
shining from the depths of your heart.
His peace will keep you untroubled
even in the greatest pain.
When you find him present within you,
you find truth at every moment.
He will guard you from all wrongdoing;
he will guide your feet on his path.
He will temper your youth with patience;
he will crown your old age with fulfillment.
And dying, you will leave your body
as effortlessly as a sigh.

I then pulled off of my refrigerator a magnet Michelle recently gave me:

at the center
of your being you
have the answer;
you know who you
are and you know
what you want.

(lao tzu)