Earth Prayers

                                                                                              Picture by Treena Duncan
O Sacred season of Autumn, be my teacher,
      for I wish to learn the virtue of contentment.
As I glaze upon your full-colored beauty,
     I sense all about you
     an at-homeness with your amber riches.

You are the season of retirement,
     of full barns and harvested fields.
The cycle of growth has ceased,
     and the busy work of giving life
     is now completed.
I sense in you no regrets:
     you've lived a full life.

I live in a society that is ever-restless,
     always eager for more mountains to climb,
     seeking happiness through more and more possessions.
As a child of my culture,
     I am seldom truly at peace with what I have.
Teach me to take stock of what I have given and received,
     may I know that it's enough,
     that my striving can cease
     in the abundance of God's grace.
May I know the contentment
     that allows the totality of my energies
     to come to full flower.
May I know that like you I am rich beyond measure.

As you, O Autumn, take pleasure in your great bounty,
     let me also take delight
     in the abundance of the simple things in life
     which are the true source of joy.
With the golden glow of peaceful contentment
     may I truly apprecieate this autumn day.

~Written by, Edward Hays
From the book: Earth Prayers from around the World
Edited by Elizabeth Rothers and Elias Amidon