“… Move beyond any attachment to names.” Every war
and every conflict between human beings has happened because
of some disagreement about
names. It’s such an unnecessary foolishness, because just
beyond the arguing there’s a long
table of companionship, set and waiting for us to sit down.
What is praised is one, so the praise is one too,
many jugs being poured
into a huge basin. All religions, all this singing,
one song.
The differences are just illusion and vanity. Sunlight
looks slightly different
on this wall than it does on that wall and a lot different
on this other one, but
it is still one light. We have borrowed these clothes, these
time-and-space personalities,
from a light, and when we praise, we pour them back in.
— Mmevlana Jelaluddin Rumi from The Soul of Rumi
Native American Prayer for Peace
Creator, open our hearts
to peace and healing between all people.
Creator, open our hearts
to provide and protect for all children of the earth.
Creator, open our hearts
to respect for the earth, and all the gifts of the earth.
Creator, open our hearts
to end exclusion, violence, and fear among all.
Thank-you for the gifts of this day and every day.
— Alycia Longriver (Native American)
My Soul In Silence Waits 