Something Different for Today
December 8, 2005
Hi — Back again .. glad you stayed around. We’re going to continue with some of the latest newsletter items in the Cancer Crusade Newsletter published by Roger and Kathy Cawthon. Here’s their website:
http://www.thecancercrusade.com
I hope you enjoy it.
Words to Live By…
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”
Ambrose Redmoon, American writer
Comedy Corner
A teacher in Atlanta asked her students to write the words to their favorite holiday songs. Here are some of the humorous lines she received:
We three kings of porridge and tar
He’s makin a list, chicken and rice.
Noel. Noel. Barney’s the king of Israel.
With the jelly toast proclaim
Frosty the Snowman is a ferret elf, I say
Sleep in heavenly peas
You’ll go down in listerine
Oh, what fun it is to ride with one horse, soap and hay
O come, froggy faithful
The following prayers for peace were offered in Assisi, Italy, on the Day of Prayer for World Peace during the U.N. International Year of Peace, 1986. Follow the link at the bottom of the column to read more prayers for peace from the world’s great religious traditions.
A Christian Prayer for Peace
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. But I say to you that hear, love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who abuse you. To those who strike you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you, and of those who take away your goods, do not ask them again. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”
A Buddhist Prayer for Peace
May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed from their illnesses. May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free. May the powerless find power and may people think of befriending one another. May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses—the children, the aged, the unprotected—be guarded by beneficent celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.
A Hindu Prayer for Peace
Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real. Oh God, lead us from darkness to light. Oh God, lead us from death to immortality. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all. Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions. May there be peace on earth. May the waters be appeasing. May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and plants bring peace to all. May all beneficent beings bring peace to us. May the Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world. May all things be a source of peace to us. And may thy peace itself bestow peace on all and may that peace come to me also.
A Jewish Prayer for Peace
Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the paths of the Most High. And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.
A Native African Prayer for Peace
Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot evade to tie any knot, the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees, the all-seeing Lord on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a rock mass here on Earth, you are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call. You are the cornerstone of peace.
A Native American Prayer for Peace
O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, we raise the pipe to you, to your messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your children. Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect, to be kind to each other so that they may grow with peace in mind. Let us learn to share all the good things that you provide for us on this Earth.
A Shinto Prayer for Peace
Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.
A Sikh Prayer for Peace
God judges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear. Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living. Know that we attain God when we love, and only that victory endures in consequence of which no one is defeated.
A Zoroastrian Prayer for Peace
We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world, that understanding triumph over ignorance, that generosity triumph over contempt, and that truth triumph over falsehood.
You can find even more prayers for peace here:
More prayers for peace from the Harvard Divinity School
That’s about it for today. I hope this break in our usual routine was enjoyable for you.
Shanti.
(As those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile know, that is the sanscrit word for “Tranquility” or “Peace”.)