Spirit of Life, source of all love,
You who body forth as our starry universe
and this luminous, blue-green planet:
Help us know you as the breath of our bodies.
As we mark the end of summer
and the beginning of autumn,
help us know you as the life force
that fills grapes and pears
with the liquid sunshine
that delights our tongues.
Help us also know you
as the force that turns green leaves yellow
and starts their slow spinning to the ground.
Help us know you as a love so large
that in all beginnings,
and in all endings,
we are ever safely held.
Help us rest in that love,
as we look with open eyes
upon the suffering within us and all around us.
Fill us with the loving kindness we need
to relieve this suffering.
Help us to breathe your love and peace
into our scarred and beautiful world.
Amen.