SOURCE OF ALL BLESSINGS,

you bless us with summer
rain — starting with a smell all
its own when drizzle settles the
dust, turning into a calm flow, then
becoming a steady stream, sleepy
and unhurried, that falls all day
(and the next and the next, till time
stands still), making the earth soft
and rich and the grass green.
May I let its voice so quiet my
mind that I become all around
me like mild rain.


Sense how it feels to honor the softening and life-giving gifts of summer rain. When we allow ourselves to be nourished and guided by the rhythms of a gentle rain or a drenching downpour, we experience ourselves as part of the great river of life and know ourselves to belong in its flow.

“May this patchwork quilt of blessings help to sharpen your taste for the gift of life in its innumerable facets,” Br. David writes. “May you grow ever more blessed, ever more able to bless.”

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Enjoy the full eight-day Summer Blessings I practice series.


Practices
Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB

Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB

About the author

Brother David Steindl-Rast — author, scholar, and Benedictine monk — is beloved the world over for his enduring message about gratefulness as the true source of lasting happiness. Known to many as the “grandfather of gratitude,” Br. David has been a source of inspiration and spiritual friendship to countless leaders and luminaries around the world including Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Merton, and more. He has been one of the most important figures in the modern interfaith dialogue movement, and has taught with thought-leaders such as Eckhart Tolle, Jack Kornfield, and Roshi Joan Halifax. His wisdom has been featured in recent interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Krista Tippett, and Tami Simon and his TED talk has been viewed almost 10,000,000 times. Learn more about Br. David here.