Flow

On this morning, I am back to reciting the blessings in the car on my drive to work. I am not eager to return to the stresses of my job, sorry not to be outside for this sacred part of my morning. It can be tempting to take the morning off from this practice, to listen to the radio instead, but this ritual eases my transition, and I need it.

I let the blessings come one after another with a melody that has a second half that wants to be followed by the first half, inviting the flow of the blessings to continue after the set 15, wherever I need them to go, right on into my day.

Baruch atah adonai eloheinu chey haolamim she'asani bat horin. Blessed are You, the Free, Our God, Life of All the Worlds, who made me free.

Blessed are You, the Source, Our God, who inspires a free flow of prayerful song.

Always Changing

Another morning walk with Asa. Today we go one street over to where we can overlook the Seekonk River in all its glory. It is a calm, bright morning, still yet fluid. In this season of change, each day looks a little different from the last.

The river too is always changing. The tide ebbs and flows, the breezes and currents paint different patterns on the water, and the birds dot the surface busy with their comings and goings. Staring out over this wide expanse, I recognize the larger rhythms and patterns of which I am but a small part.

Baruch atah adonai eloheinu chey ha'olamim matir asurim. Blessed are You, Redeemer our God, Life of all the Worlds, who makes the captive free.

Blessed are You, Source of All, Our God, who keeps things constantly changing.

Blowing Leaves

Asa and I took a walk this morning under a soft blue sky anad gentle warm sunshine. He sat tall in the stroller, surveying the scene with a princely air. I sang the blessings using the same melody as yesterday, moving through them a little more rapidly than usual, one flowing directly into another.

The wind picked up as we walked, and I listened to the sound of the the wind in the drying leaves still in the trees, the sound of the leaves falling gently, and the sound of the leaves already on the ground blowing around. It's a certain sound, an October sound.

Baruch atah adonai eloheynu chey ha-olamim hanoteyn lesechvi vinah lehavchin beyn yom uveyn laylah. Blessed are You, the Provident, Our God, Life of All the Worlds, who gives the bird of dawn discernment to tell day from night.

Blessed are You, the Source of All, Our God, Life of All the Worlds, who gives me discernment to hear the particular sounds of each season.

Autumn Sky

After a nighttime rain, the sky cleared leaving a lovely mist and unmistakable autumn light, leaves just starting to turn, a crispness and brittleness in all the plants.

The cats, Asa and I go outside, treading on the wet grass, smelling the autumn scents, gazing into the deep blue sky, watching birds on the wire and the waning moon hanging in the Western sky. Water droplets hang from the bittersweet berries, making even that

Asa crawls around as I sing the blessings and then asks to be up in my arms for the last several. We stand together gazing west at the moon and the trees and the river beyond. Asa's arm oustretched pointing at the birds and maybe too the moon, bringing into sharp focus the wonder of this beautiful morning.

Baruch atah adonai eloheinu chey ha-olamim oter yisrael betifarah. Blessed are You, the Beautiful, Our God, Life of All the Worlds, who crowns Israel with splendor.

Blessed are You, the Creator, Our God, Life of All the Worlds, who fills us with wonder.

Girding with Strength

This morning my melodies were all over the place. The tune from Tuesday was in my head all through breakfast so I started with it but then let things change and change to a totally different, livelier melody that never quite formed enough to record. .I was pleasantly surprised by its liveliness because I was dragging a bit. Is the melody a reflection of what's going on inside me or is it a little boost to help transform what is going on with me? It's mysterious!

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Chey Ha-Olamim ozer yisrael bigevurah. Blessed are You, a Fountain of Blessings are You, the Mighty One, Our God, who girds Israel with Strength.

This one always troubles me a little. It's hard not to think of it in militaristic terms, which makes me not like it much. And I do think of it that way and then I challenge myself to move beyond that. Why does this blessing refer to all Israel when most of the others are much more personal? I like to think that it's telling us that there's strength in numbers, that there's strength in community.

Heading into work today I knew that the only way forward through my weariness is to find ways to work well with my colleagues, to take on our challenges together. To tap into the Might that girds us with strength.