All who sit around these tables,
Friends and strangers,
In peaceful conversation
And pleasant disagreement,
We take this moment to acknowledge
Whenever we eat together
That we are blessed
And, in our turn,
We bless.
Blessed be the creator and the created,
Blessed be the sustainers and the sustained.
Blessed be the eaters and the eaten,
Blessed be the feeders and the fed.
Blessed be the cooks and the meal,
Blessed be the drinkers and the water.
Blessed be the farmers and the produce,
Blessed be the baker and the bread.
Blessed be them all.
Blessed be the doers and the done upon,
Blessed be the freers and the freed.
Blessed be the leaders and the led,
Blessed be the sellers and the sold.
Blessed be the prayers and the prayed for,
Blessed be the servers and the served.
Blessed be the teachers and the taught,
Blessed be the tellers and the told.
Blessed be them all.
Blessing us, One-ness,
With the biggest and the smallest of blessings:
We do not lack.
Blessing us, One-ness,
With a history, ancient and current,
That is never boring.
We give thanks
Blessing us, One-ness,
With boundless compassion
For all people.
We pray for even a fraction of that empathy
That we may feel the joy and the suffering of all who surround us
And so that they may also feel ours
So that we all may act accordingly and save the world.
Blessed One-ness
Making peace
Sustaining wholeness
For each other
And everyone else, too.
Amen
Amen, selah! And let us give thanks to poets who, emulating the Bountiful One, bring good things to light and move us to gratitude.
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