Aloha Friends,
Yoga and massage are great tools to keep us feeling blessed and grateful. We can also add on other tools such as these international blessings I’ve collected from books and online. Canadian and American Thanksgivings are rapidly approaching so I thought now would be a great time to share. I hope you enjoy! Thanks! Johanna
If beings knew, as I know, the result of giving
and sharing,
they would not eat without having given,
nor would they allow the stain of meanness
to obsess them and take root in their minds.
Even if it were their last morsel, their last
mouthful,
they would not enjoy eating without having
shared it,
if there were someone to share it with.
- Teachings of the Buddha
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
When we eat the good bread,
we are eating months of sunlight,
weeks of rain and snow from the sky,
richness out of the earth.
We should be great, each of us radiant,
full of music and full of stories.
Able to run the way clouds do, able to
dance like the snow and the rain.
But nobody takes time to think that he eats all
these things and that sun, rain,
snow are all part of himself.
– Monica Shannon
In a few moments of silence,
let each of us be mindful
of all we have which to give thanks:
friends, food, hopes, health
and happy memories.
(a moment of silence observed)
So, in giving thanks,
we are blessed.
Amen
– Traditional Christian prayer
As thou hast set the moon in the sky
to be the poor man’s lantern,
so let thy Light shine in my dark life
and lighten my path;
as the rice is sown in the water
and brings forth grain in great abundance,
so let thy word be sown in our midst
that the harvest may be great;
and as the banyan sends forth its branches
to take root in the soil,
so let thy Life take root in our lives.
– Hindu blessing
Deep peace
of the running wave to you,
Deep peace
of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace
of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace
of the shining star to you.
– Gaelic blessing
For the hay and the corn
and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done,
and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew
and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and song,
and the harvest brought home —-
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
– English traditional hymn
Five Contemplations
This food is the gift of the whole universe
the Earth, the sky, and much hard work.
May we eat in mindfulness so as to be worthy
to receive it.
May we transform our unskilled states of mind
And learn to eat with moderation.
May we take only foods that nourish us
and prevent illness.
We accept this food to realize the path
of understanding and love
-Thich Nhat Hanh.
Bless our hearts
to hear in the
breaking of bread
the song of the universe.
– Father John Giuliani
For the meal we are about to eat,
for those that made it possible,
and for those with whom we are about
to share it,
we are thankful.
– From the humanist benediction
In this plate of food, I see the entire universe
supporting my existence.
– Zen blessing from Thich Nhat Hanh
We receive this food in gratitude to all beings
Who have helped to bring it to our table,
And vow to respond in turn to those in need
With wisdom and compassion.
– Buddhist Meal Gatha
We give thanks for the plants and animals who
have given themselves so that we can enjoy
this meal together.
We also give thanks for our friends and family
who have traveled here today.
May this meal bring us strength and health.
– Variation on a Native American thanksgiving
Blessed be the Earth for providing us this food
Blessed be the Sun for helping it to grow
Blessed be the Wind and Birds for carrying its seed
Blessed be the Rain for the water’s loving flow.
Blessed be the hands that helped prepare this meal,
May those hands and our hands, bodies too,
be well and quick to heal.
Blessed be our friends, our families,
and all of our loved ones.
Blessed be our mother earth, our father sky and sun.
– Christian mealtime prayer
Dear earth who gives to us this food,
Dear sun who makes it ripe and good,
Sun above and earth below,
Our loving thanks to you we show.
Blessings on our meal.
– Secular mealtime prayer
Om, beloved mother nature,
you are here on our table as food.
You are endlessly bountiful, benefactress of all.
Grant us
health and strength, wisdom and dispassion,
and help us share this with one and all.
– Hindu mealtime prayer
Let us be together; let us eat together.
Let us be vital together, let us be radiating truth,
radiating the light of life.
Never shall we denounce anyone,
never entertain negativity.
– The Upanishads
As we come together at this special time,
let us pause a moment to appreciate the
opportunity for good company and to
thank all those past and present whose efforts
have made this event possible.
We reap the fruits of our society, our country,
and our civilization, and take joy in the
bounties of nature on this happy occasion.
Let us also wish that, some day, all people
on Earth may enjoy the same good fortune
that we share.
– Red Bank Humanists