A Blessing for One Who Is Free
May you know in your bones
a belonging that is yours
because you are “you”
and no one else.
May your body rest
in a welcome that encircles
all that is in you,
both seen and unseen.
May you inhale and exhale
particles of love;
may you laugh with the aspens
as your word bubbles up.
May you whisper it first to the moon,
and then bury it with the worms,
and then, when it breaks through to the light,
cradle it to your chest,
and then sing it from the roof
so brightly, it shatters the universe!
And now listen,
as the stars echo it back,
your sacred word,
in the language of all who are free:
“you are loved and unrepeatable.”
In the name God who knows you,
Christ who frees you,
and the Spirit, our breath of life,
Amen
∞
Poems serve to name what is.
Prayers help us name who God is.
Blessings invite us name our hope.
May these words for sharing nourish your brain and the spirit in private moments and as you share them with loved ones to comfort, mark occasions, and invite us to remember the nonviolent, nonpunishing, unconditionally forgiving image of God reflected in Jesus.
Please reach out to share words you’ve found helpful for you and your community.
Connect with friends who are also interested in the relationship between scripture, theology, and neuroscience by following us @thebrainandthespirit.
Listening with you,
Originally published:
The Brain & the Spirit, Chapter 4, A Borrowed Body, “A Blessing for One Who Is Free,” p. 99
Further reading:
