I Awaken Before Dawn
I awaken before dawn, go into the kitchen and fix a cup of tea.
I light the candle and sit in its glow on the meditation cushion.
Taking my cup in both hands, I lift it to my Lord and give thanks.
The feel of the cup against my palms brings the potter to mind
and I offer a blessing for his hands.
I give thanks for the clay, the glaze and the kiln.
I take a sip and follow the warmth into my body.
I offer a blessing for those who brought electricity to my home,
who dug the ditches for the lines,
who built my home and put in the wires,
who made my tea kettle and brought me water to fill it.
I take a sip and bless the people in India or China who grew the tea,
cultivated it, picked and dried the leaves, took it to market,
handled it through the many transactions to bring it to my home.
I take a sip and bless those people in Florida, California or Central America
who grew the tree that blossomed into flowers.
I give thanks for the warmth of the sun and the rain which turned the blossoms into lemons,
and I bless the hands that picked the fruit, sorted it, touched it as it traveled from the orchard to my table.
I take another sip and bless the hands of those who provided the sugar
which sweetened the tea, harvested the cane, processed it,
bagged it and sent it on its way to me.
I take another sip and lift my cup in gratitude as I feel the interconnection of my body now with theirs,
my blood now with theirs,
my bones now with theirs,
and my heart fills with love for all of creation.
I give thanks.
Helen Moore teaches yoga with mind, body, and spirit, with an attitude of gratitude. She lives a simple life in Lexington, Virginia with her two small dogs, who awe her with their capacity for love and compassion every day.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What do you feel grateful for? Can you share a story of a time you realized how much your life was supported by the work of others? What practice helps you grow in gratitude?
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8 Past Reflections
On Mar 2, 2022 Usha wrote :
Gratitude for this creation.
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On Feb 4, 2016 Ramesh Narayan wrote :
I feel grateful that I am alive and living. I am grateful that I got an opportunity to read Helen Moore's gratitude to all those connected with bringing the tea to her cup and also to all those made the cup to hold the tea. What I am today is because of my parents, my family, my sister and the innumerable friends and colleagues who I came in contact with, for them having tolerated me and forgiven my mistakes. I am very much grateful to God who is always with me in every part of my life.
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On Nov 24, 2015 david doane wrote :
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On Nov 24, 2015 Nina Sanfilippo wrote :
I take the alphabet from A-Z and go over people, places and things that I am grateful for. When I got ill and had to go to the hospital, I realized how the knowledge of the doctor and the nurses had my life in their hands and how much my friends loved me when they visited me. I say thank You to my Higher Power each morning and thank You to Him before retiring and all throughout the day.
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On Nov 24, 2015 Kristin Pedemonti wrote :
I feel grateful for being alive, utterly alive and being in touch with gratitude every day. It truly makes a HUGE difference in how one sees the world; we can focus on the wonder or focus on the negative. Being mindfully grateful started for me around 1999 and never stopped. I kept a gratitude journal from then on, sometimes the list was 5 or 6 simple things: sunshine, a bird singing in a nearby tree, waking in the morning under warm covers. Other times the list went for pages including what you all focused upon this morning: all those hands and hearts that create what we take for granted.
Thank you for once again focusing on gratitude and its impact on our lives and the lives of those around us.
Hugs from my heart to yours!
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On Nov 24, 2015 Annette wrote :
A wonderful morning contemplation and prayer of gratitude. This morning, the sun shines brightly into my window, a flowering maple a friend gifted me with is blooming beautiful red bell flowers for the first time, and I feel content and grateful. BTW, Helen, I live just up the road from you in Highland County :-)
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On Nov 20, 2015 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
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On Nov 20, 2015 Liz Helgesen wrote :
Reading this piece (but sipping coffee :)) brought me right to the minutia of my life with gratitude for every tiny detail, every breath, each beat of my heart. For every heart beat of my precious family, individually and collectively. For every dirty dish I am so blessed to wash. For every letter of this keyboard I am so fortunate to press. And for every eye (and ear!) that gets to read this post, I am grateful. And for every soul in between us, I pray. I pray and invite them all to join us in this place. Right here. Right now. Just for this moment. With this reading. With love, for all of creation. Liz