Catching Up! And Others, by Leunig (cartoons) for the young at heart



CATCHING UP
(and others)
by Leunig






God bless this tiny little boat
And me who travels in it.
It stays afloat for years and years
And sinks within a minute.

And so the soul in which we sail,
Unknown by years of thinking,
Is deeply felt and understood
The minute that its sinking.






Dear God,
We rejoice and give thanks for earthworms, bees, ladybirds and broody hens: for humans tending their gardens, talking to animals, cleaning their homes and singing to themselves; for the rising of the sap, the fragrance of growth, the invention of the wheelbarrow and the existence of the teapot, we give thanks. We celebrate and give thanks.
Amen.








God help us
If our world should grow dark;
And there is no way of seeing or knowing.
Grant us courage and trust
To touch and be touched
To find our way onwards
By feeling.
Amen.


God help us to live slowly:
To move simply:
To look softly:
To allow emptiness:
To let the heart create for us.
Amen.




God rest us.
Rest that part of us which is tired.
Awaken that part of us which is asleep.
God awaken us and awake within us.
Amen.


Love is born
With a dark and troubled face
When hope is dead
And in the most unlikely place
Love is born:
Love is always born.








We simplify our lives.
We live gladly with less.
We let go the illusion that we can possess.
We create instead.
We let go the illusion of mobility.
We travel in stillness. We travel at home.
By candlelight and in stillness,
In the presence of flowers,
We make our pilgrimage.
We simplify our lives.



We give thanks for the blessing of winter:
Season to cherish the heart.
To make warmth and quiet for the heart.
To make soups and broths for the heart.
To cook for the heart and read for the heart.
To curl up softly and nestle with the heart.
To sleep deeply and gently at one with the heart.
To dream with the heart.
To spend time with the heart.
A long, long time of peace with the heart.
We give thanks for the blessing of winter:
Season to cherish the heart.
Amen.


We give thanks for the invention of the handle.
Without it there would be many things we could'nt hold on to. As for the things we can't hold on to anyway, let us gracefully accept their ungraspable nature and celebrate all things elusive, fleeting and intangible.
They mystify us and make us receptive to truth and beauty. We celebrate and give thanks.
Amen.







God be with those who explore in the cause of understanding; whose search takes them far from what is familiar and comfortable and leads them into danger or terrifying loneliness. Let us try to understand their sometimes strange or difficult ways; their confronting or unusual language; the uncommon life of their emotions, for they have been affected and shaped and changed by their struggle at the frontiers of a wild darkness, just as we may be affected, shaped and changed by the insights they bring back to us. Bless them with strength and peace.
Amen.



Let us live in such a way
That when we die
Our love will survive
And continue to grow.
Amen.


[Home] [Food for Thought][For the Young at Heart] [OverTheMoon] [EternalSpirit] [Post Office][Links] [WebRings] [Next]
ConNosotros© 2001-2007


A further page of sketches and poems
can be found at our other website 'OverTheMoon'
entitled
Trying to make sense of it all!