MUSIC   Prayer of The Day Nature Prayers The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy Is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, Alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be And that God wishes to see people happy, Amidst the simple beauty of nature. - Anne Frank     For blue of stream and blue of sky, Father we thank thee. For pleasant shade of branches high Father, we thank thee For fragrant air and cooling breeze, For the beauty of the blooming trees, Father in heaven, we thank thee. For this new morning with its light, Father, we thank thee. For rest and shelter of the night, Father we thank thee. For health and food, for love and friends, For everything that goodness sends, Father in heaven, we thank thee. - "Lord of Creation" by Ralph Waldo Emerson   The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers. It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and death, in ebb and in flow. I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment. - Rabindranath Tagore Intricate and untraceable weaving and interweaving, dark strand with light: Designed, beyond All spiderly contrivance, To link, not to entrap: Elation, grief, joy, contrition, entwinded; shaking, changing, forever forming, transforming: All praise, all praise to the great web. - Denise Levertov   Earth mother, star mother, You are called by a thousand names, May all remember we are cells in your body and dance together. You are the grain and the loaf that sustains us each day, And as you are patient with our struggles to learn So shall we be patient with ourselves and each other. We are radiant light and sacred dark-the balance- You are the embrace that heartens And the freedom beyond fear. Within you we are born, we grow, live, and die- You bring us around the circle to rebirth, Within us you dance Forever. - Starhawk     Come to these scenes of peace, Where, to rivers murmuring, The sweet birds all the summer sing, Where cares and toil and sadness cease! Stranger, does thy heart deplore Friends whom thou wilt see no more? Does thy wounded spirit prove Pangs of hopeless, severed love? Thee the stream that gushes clear, Thee the birds that carol near Shall sooth, as silent thou dost lie And dream of their wild lullaby; Come to bless these scenes of peace, Where cares and toil and sadness cease. - "Come To These Scenes of Peace" By William Lisle Bowles     Spirit of the East, spirit of air, of morning and springtime: Be with us as the sun rises, in times of beginning, times of planting. Inspire us with the fresh breath of courage as we go forth into new adventures. Spirit of the South, spirit of fire, of noontime and summer: Be with us through the heat of the day and help us to be ever growing. Warm us with strength and energy for the work that awaits us. Spirit of the West, spirit of water, of evening and autumn: Be with us as the sun sets and help us enjoy a rich harvest. Flow through us with a cooling, healing quietness and bring us peace. Spirit of the North, spirit of the earth, of nighttime and winter, Be with us in the darkness, in the time of gestation. Ground us in the wisdom of the changing seasons as we celebrate the spiraling journey of our lives. - To The Four Directions, by Joan Goodwin     Spirit that hears each one of us, Hears all that is- Listens, listens, hears us out- Inspire us now! Our own pulse beats in every stranger's throat, and also there within the flowered ground beneath our feet, And-teach us to listen!- We can hear it in water, in wood, and even in stone. We are earth of this earth, and we are bone of its bone. This is a prayer I sing, for we have forgotten this and so the earth is perishing. - Barbara Deming     Water flows from high in the mountains. Water runs deep in the Earth. Miraculously, water comes to us, and sustains all life. Water and sun green these plants. When the rain of compassion falls, even a desert becomes an immense, green ocean. - Thich Nhat Hanh   Earth cure me. Earth receive my woe. Rock strengthen me. Rock receive my weakness. Rain wash my sadness away. Rain receive my doubt. Sun make sweet my song. Sun receive the anger from my heart. - Nancy Wood   Hear our prayer O Lord... for animals that are overworked, underfed, and cruelly treated; for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars; for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry; for all that must be put to death.... And for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words. - Albert Schweitzer   Again did the earth shift Again did the nights grow short, And the days long. And the people of the earth were glad and celebrated each in their own ways. - "Solstice" Diane Lee Moomey   As a child I walked with noisy fingers along the hemline of so many meadows back home Green fabric stretched out shy earth shock of sky I'd sit on logs like pulpits listen to the sermon of sparrows and find god in Simplicity, there amongst the dandelion and thorn - "As A Child I Walked" by Jewel Kilcher   Show me a small and shriveled seed, discarded as a worthless thing: smile if you will, that I should kneel in worship -there'll be Spring! - Ruth Bell Graham   The shining earth with its circling waters; In splendor established the sun and moon As lights to illuminate the land of men; Fairly adorning the fields of earth With leaves and branches; creating life In every creature that breathes and moves. - From "Beowulf," Author Unknown, Translated by Charles W. Kennedy     or RETURN TO SERENITY GARDEN