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An Advent Prayer Ritual (A reprint from Rachel Naomi Remen's - "My Grandfather's Blessings") Editor's Note: This "home ritual" would be especially suitable beginning at Thanksgiving time through the Advent Season, a Season of hope an expectation. The Tibetans have a beautiful ritual that I would like you (and perhaps the rest of us!) to try every day for a month: In the morning, the first thing after rising, take a bowl and, slowly, fill it with water. As you fill the bowl, reflect on the particulars of your life:
And as the bowl fills with water, receive all of those things as gifts from God and accept them unconditionally as your portion. Fill the bowl to the brim. Then, carefully so as not to spill a drop, set the bowl in a special place for the rest of the day - a place where you will see it often. Let the water in the bowl serve as a reminder of everything that life has given you. At the end of the day, just before retiring for the night, empty the bowl-slowly-and turn it upside down. Let the pouring out of the water be your prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of the day just ending. Emptying the bowl is an act of letting go, of waiting in hope until the morning light to receive once again all that life holds.
Copyright © 2003 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
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