Thanks Giving Blessing
photograph by Cherie Westmoreland
by Cherie Westmoreland
Did you notice the frolicking Towhee in the birdbath?
Or the ten-foot-high Foxglove, ensuring,
during a time of drought, it would produce
enough seeds to carry on?
Do you bow to the cedars
steadfast and strong
as they long for a drink?
Or the salmon, sacrificing
their lives in a dry river bed
so that their kin
will remember their Source.
Do you look up with
heart-dropping gratitude
at the geese who are, again,
migrating south,
calling with a longing
that touches your own?
Can you let your own animal body
touch that same wetness,
that same dryness
that same longing?
It’s a prayer of
Thanksgiving being offered to you
by this mysterious, creative, enlivened world
that is in you and of you
inviting an open-hearted surrender
to the sorrows and joys
of being alive.
Blessed Be.
Cherie Westmoreland
is an artist with a particular focus on contemplative photography and writing. She has explored and experienced a variety of faith traditions and finds the natural world to be her most potent teacher of heart and spirit. She has completed the Pacific Jubilee SoulGuiding and SoulMentoring programs, and brings a quiet and grounded presence to her practice of spiritual accompaniment. Cherie also facilitates silent retreats and retreats that explore contemplative photography.
