If the only prayer you say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice.
- Meister Eckhart, 1260-1328 13th Century Dominican mystic
In Gratitude for the Labors of Others
A hundred times a day I remind myself
that my inner and outer life depends
on the labors of other men,
living and dead,
and that I must exert myself in order
to give in the measure as I have received
and am still receiving.
- Albert Einstein
Thank you for the many blessings which rain down upon me constantly.
Thank you for all that is.
Thank you for this day.
I welcome and thank Creator for prayers
that come from all souls. I am not a lonely
star but a member of a constellation, we shine,
we shine, with grace and love and light.
--Karren Hoyt
Give thanks for the Mother Gaia,
Give thanks for the Father Sun,
Give thanks for the plants in the garden,
Where the Mother and the Father are One.
Let us give thanks:
For generous friends...with hearts as big as hubbards
and smiles as bright as their blossoms,
For feisty friends as tart as apples,
For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers,
keep reminding us that we've had them,
For crotchety friends, as sour as rhubarb and as indestructible,
For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants
and as elegant as a row of corn,
And the others, as plain as potatoes and so good for you,
for funny friends, who are as silly as brussel sprouts
and as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes,
And serious friends, as complex as cauliflowers
and as intricate as onions.
For friends as unpretentious as cabbages,
As subtle as summer squash,
As persistent as parsley,
As delightful as dill,
As endless as zucchini,
And who, like parsnips, can be counted on to see you through the winter,
For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening-time
And young friends coming on as fast as radishes,
For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils and hold us,
despite our blights, wilts,and witherings,
And, finally, for those friends now gone,
like gardens past that have been harvested,
but who fed us in their times that we might have life thereafter.
For all these, we give thanks. Amen.
--Written by Max Coots, Minister Emeritus of the
Canton, New York Unitarian Universalist Church
O God, I thank You for this day of life
for eyes to see the sky
for ears to hear the birds
for feet to walk amidst the trees
for hands to pick the flowers from the earth
for a sense of smell to breathe in the sweet
perfumes of nature
for a mind to think about and appreciate
the magic of everyday miracles
for a spirit to swell in joy at Your mighty presence
everywhere.
--Marian Wright Edelman