The Gift of Prayer

There are so many gifts we may receive over the course of a lifetime. Some of them, will surely fade away with time. And truly, very few will be remembered and treasured, and be with us for years and even decades to come...

The gift of love - is one of the most beautiful gifts we can receive. But, sometimes, love too, fades away, and at other times, for reasons unknown and not fully understood, someone who was deeply loved, no longer plays a significant part in our lives. Such are the ways of life...

Still, I believe, that every loving word or thought ever uttered, continues to reverberate for all of Eternity. Somewhere, out there - every genuine expression of love continues to glow, flickering like a candle in the great Cosmic Darkness. Therefore, we should choose our thoughts and words carefully, and never lightly, for they also have a karmic component...

But perhaps, the most enduring and most selfless gift that any of us can give or receive, is the Gift of Prayer...

Today, lost in my own prayers and meditations, my thoughts turned to a "Special Soul" in my life who is gifted in ways too numerous to properly note. Yet, I feel that in many ways, her greatest gift in this lifetime, is to pray for others deep into the night, like a Bodhisattva - someone who hears the cries of those suffering and in need - and vows - out of great compassion - to stay here until every last soul attains Nirvana - or sweetly merges with the Divine...

This gift - unlike any other - withstands the test of Time - and has a tremendous Karmic impact - for both the giver of the Gift of Prayer - and the one who is receiving the Gift. Today, as I prayed for this dear soul, who does not often take her own needs in consideration, I was grateful beyond words for the gift of her prayers in these last few years. There is truly, no greater gift that two souls can give one another. And so, it inspired this poem...

The Gift of Prayer

You have the Gift of Prayer
Among so many other gifts

Your prayers rise
Like incense--
And are heard by the Beloved
But answered
By His Mother--
As the Divine Feminine

I am a blessed recipient
At times, as are so many others,
All of us, so deeply touched
By your Gift of Prayer

Hafiz, also, once treasured
The beauty of such a gift:

"This is the kind of Friend
You are--
Without making me realize
My soul's anguished history,
You slip into my house at night,
And while I am sleeping,
You silently carry off
All my suffering and sordid past
In your beautiful hands."

Every Soul has its special gift--
And yours, among so many,
is sublime and priceless:
The Gift of Prayer