Celebration II

This has been a week of connecting with many people from various phases of my past - most of them celebrating birthdays...

One of them - is a friend I have known since I was nine - who was always interested in metaphysical things...

Another was my best friend in my late teens and early twenties...

A third was my college roommate...

And still another - was a friend from my mid twenties to mid thirties...

And the last one - is from my late forties to early fifties...

As I sat by the river this morning and recited 51 "Hail Marys" for the friend turning 51 today with a strong devotion to this prayer - I reflected on how people come in and out of our lives - and how so many significant people in my life have had birthdays at around the same time...I thought of all of those who have touched my life in one way or another and wish for all of them this blessing - dedicated to a very special person on her birthday:

"May your coming year be a good one--
rich and full, and deep.

May your spiritual practice take you places
you have not been to,
but have glimpsed, tasted, or imagined.

May you know the ever new joy that Yogananda
so beautifully speaks of,
not just occasionally, but in every moment.

May you know peace, hope, blessings,
and love without measure.

May you experience your cup running over
with all things good.

May you delight in the beauty that is present in everything,
surrounded by your family.

And may you recognize God's Presence
in every moment, year, and strand of your life."

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