And if you can’t find a candle,
then light the wick of your wonder.
And if you can’t find your wonder,
then now might be a good time
to pray. And if you don’t
know how to pray,
then perhaps you are doing it right.
What do I know of prayer?
Only that every prayer that has saved me
is a prayer that has found me
instead of the other way round—
a prayer that comes through me,
as if I am nothing more
than flesh in service to a prayer.
And if there is a candle, then light it.
And if there is a candle, ask it
to be your teacher. And if there is
a candle, notice how far its light
can reach. See if you, too, can touch
the world as generously as a candle,
just that far, holding back not even
the tiniest measure of love.

~Rosemary Wahtola Trommer

when the days become a reflection of hope…

inquiry for today~ how will it be for you today?

all measure of things…

When all thoughts

are exhausted,

I slip into the woods

and gather

a pile of shepherd’s purse.

Like the little stream

making its way

through the mossy crevices,

I, too, quietly

turn clear

and transparent.

~Ryokan