Help, Thanks, Wow!

According to author and Christian, Anne Lamont, these are the three essential prayers: asking for help from the Creator; appreciating what we have been given; and feeling awe for the world around us.

These are prayers that we in CATS bring to our work.  

In a recent meditation, Richard Rohr explained that righteousness is really about right relationships - with one another, with ourselves, with our resources, with our world.  How can we live in right relations with the earth and one another?

This most honest prayer is what we can give to God.  “Creator help us to understand how to live in order to re-store our planetary home.”
Help.

And while asking is a good place to start, sometimes, the answer might come in seeing what has been given.  Sometimes, we just need to pause and see, feel, appreciate.

Spring is such a time.  The re-birth that naturally emerges without our doing a thing - fresh growth of every kind; the miracle of any birth; recovery from illness or surgery; inspiration from art or music; pleasure from a friend’s companionship. 

“Thank you Holy One for all that is before us, for all that supports and sustains us, for all that brings us to wholeness.” 
Thanks.  

Gratitude and grace often accompany one another.  When we pause to appreciate, our hearts may be opened more fully.  By quietening the long list of to-dos, we find space for another message to reach us.  Suddenly, that tiny, red ladybug landing on the rose leaf becomes something extraordinary; observing a suited-pedestrian bend to listen and respond to a person who is homeless is inspiration; a company understanding its role in climate change by supporting employees to take transit or car pool is uplifting. 
“How wondrous are thy works.”   

Wow.

Where do Help, Thanks, Wow fit into your life?