A Celtic Prayer

Postcard thoughts.

I have accepted the fact that I’m a collector. As a kid, I collected Breyer Horses, books, Barbies, stamps, and who knows what else. As an adult, I have a longing to live a minimalistic life-style, but as an adventurer, I like to keep a little piece of something to remember from my explorations. I was taught the old saying, “take nothing but pictures, leave nothing by footprints.” I can’t do that. It is compulsory for me to have a little remembrance. A rock. A shell. A flower. And now when I travel, a postcard, a drink coaster, a magnet, a sticker, or a fossil. My bulletin board sitting in front of me is an adult-version of a scrapbook that probably shouldn’t be the focal point of my grown-up living room.

One of the postcards that has been hanging for a while, is a common one in western Scotland. I’ve had the privilege to go there a few times and I’ve seen it for sale in various shops. I’ve given it out as a gift to some friends and family. It’s a beautiful Celtic Prayer. I don’t know what to write about, so I thought I would just look at this postcard and write some thoughts about it.

Deep peace of the running waves to you.

What is this peace, that it speaks of? Is it the way a body can naturally relax when it hears the noise of the sea, or water? The reason that water noises are on most noise-makers for those people like myself who are sensitive-sleepers (easily overwhelmed by the world and missing the quiet of the womb)? It does not say “Deep peace of the waves to you,” it says running waves. There IS a peace in still water, but there is something comforting in the movement of waves. Confirmation that life IS movement. Some days the waves are gentle and some days they are dangerously rough. It can fun, relaxing, exciting, and terrifying. But this prayer is wishing that we should find the peace that is deep in there. Choosing peace even though life is constantly moving and changing. And it’s a deep peace. Its maybe not as easily found as we like to think. We need to approach the water to look for it. Maybe dive in. I don’t know. There is a strange comfort in knowing that all of us are in this thing, called life, which is always moving, like the waves.

Deep peace of the flowing air to you.

Breathe. Breathe deeply. Square breathing. Walk outside and breathe. Feel cold air on your skin, or warm sun on your back. God is closer to us than the air that we breathe. Air is flowing in our atmosphere due to the goodness of nature. While we live on this earth, we breathe. Finding deep peace in the knowledge that we get to be alive in this moment. Choosing to enjoy the breath, or to listen to the wind moving the trees. This is magic. I sound like a yogi but how often do we stop and just breathe? How often do we realize the utter miracle of our own selves existing? The air will keep flowing even after our time here is finished. There is a depth and comfort to knowing that our children and humankind will continue to breathe this air. Flowing air also makes me think of the invisible aspects of this world, the things happening and swirling around us that we don’t see. May these things be good and old magic.

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.

This world, my world that I live in, is not quiet. It is getting noisier by the minute. I have to leave the city and suburbs quite often to let my mind slow down, my body relax. I am barefoot all the time, even in the snow and rain. I don’t like to wear gardening gloves. I love to pinch plants and see if they smell. I think it’s because the feel of the earth, is just pure goodness. Grass. rain, snow, rocks, water, dirt, wood chips, plants, moss…ashes to ashes, dust to dust. All of us who have ever lived and ever will live, will die and we will join the eco-system of this planet. There is something beautiful about that. Something connecting. This planet is large, the sun larger, the solar system is massive, and the universe ever -expanding. We are so tiny on our little planet, but it is ours and feeling it, being with it, joining it, is a calming thought. We are all connected. We all belong.

Deep peace of the shining stars to you.

I wish I could insert an audible sigh of relief and awe here. There is nothing like walking outside at night, in a rural area, and seeing the stars. Seeing the Milky Way Belt and various constellations. Imagining all the people throughout history who studied the stars; the Magi who traveled to Bethlehem, the explorers out at sea navigating by stars, the people who are blessed enough to see the Northern Lights. I am convinced that you cannot feel awe, without a rush of knowledge that there is something bigger, deeper, and beautiful out there. This is the deep peace of the stars. They guide us by night and shine their love down on us.

Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

This line clearly refers to Jesus Christ, who is The Son, and known for being the Prince of Peace, among many other names. He is called the Son of God, and the human form of God, the creator who became human to fully love us and break the curse of death, or non-existence. Not everyone believes this, and that’s ok. But for those who consider thoughts of God, of Jesus, of an afterlife, just learning about the life of Jesus as a person is encouraging. God came to join humanity. That’s pretty cool. My hope is that this God-the-Father, God-the-Son, and God-the-Holy Spirit is real and trustworthy. I choose to hold this hope, this basic faith, because it brings me peace in my heart and spirit while the world spirals out of control, and because Jesus preached peace. I can think of him, and hope he hears my prayers.

That’s it for this postcard musing. I feel that I didn’t do this prayer justice, but it was beautiful break for me to read and ponder for a few minutes. Thanks for joining me.