<\/p>\n
As I was taking my morning walk, my thought for the day was:\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n How can I be a blessing to the world and the people around me?\u00a0 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Can I, through my presence alone, be a blessing?<\/p>\n I began saying the words: \u201cWith every breath, I breathe in peace.\u00a0 <\/span>With every step I send out love.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/i><\/b>That felt very good.\u00a0 <\/span>But later as I walked deeper into the woods and the stillness became more palpable and the beauty more potent, as the stream sang its sweet, gay song, I found joy bubbling up inside me.\u00a0 <\/span>And then the words became:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI breathe in joy, I breathe out love.\u00a0 <\/span>I walk in peace.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n My prayer is that when I walk in the woods with an open heart and great gratitude, it is blessed by my presence, just as I am deeply blessed by it.\u00a0 <\/span>My prayer is that the joy and peace I feel radiates out to the greater world beyond those dear trees and stream.<\/p>\n And certainly when I take a morning walk it does make a difference when I go out into the world of human beings.\u00a0 <\/span>Walking with reverence and gratitude is a spiritual practice for me that fills up my well so that I can be more present and loving within the workaday world.<\/p>\n You may have different spiritual practices that fill your well.\u00a0 <\/span>It could be meditation or prayer.\u00a0 <\/span>It could be gardening or swimming.\u00a0 <\/span>It could be listening to music or making music.\u00a0 <\/span>It could be soaking in a bath or hot springs.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n Whatever it is, please do more of it.\u00a0 <\/span>If each of us did what we need to do to feel more peaceful, joyful, and grounded, how could it help but shift the world into a better place?<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be forces of peace in the world by being peaceful.\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s be vehicles of joy by being joyful.\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s be beacons of light by being radiant.<\/b><\/p>\n Let\u2019s let our very presence be a gift to this world.<\/p>\n So be it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As I was taking my morning walk, my thought for the day was:\u00a0 How can I be a blessing to the world and the people around me?\u00a0 Can I, through my presence alone, be a blessing? I began saying the words: \u201cWith every breath, I breathe in peace.\u00a0 With every step I send out love.\u201d\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":553,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,178,166,3,354,34,2,119,22,90,207,370,30,41,204,319,416,195,273,414,415],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-better-world","category-affirmations","category-bestowing-blessings","category-blessings","category-breath","category-centeredness","category-gratitude","category-joy","category-love","category-mantra","category-meditation","category-natural-beauty","category-nature","category-prayer","category-shift","category-shine-brightly","category-spiritual-practices","category-stream","category-thank-you","category-walking","category-woods"],"yoast_head":"\n