Year Four, Day 234: 2020: A Mandala and A Prayer

Today is January 3, 2020.  I began writing this post on New Year's Day, but got sidetracked.

Happy New Year! The year 2020 - it sounds most science fiction!

I am sitting at Arby's recovering from New Years Eve overnight with a 2 year-old

 I will be going to the gym soon to work off this here beef n' cheddar.

Honestly, this New Year's Eve was probably the most enjoyable and memorable of my life.  We danced, we played "Nay" (Gracie's word for horse), we ordered McDonald's from Uber Eats.  I felt I needed a Diet Coke to make it through the evening. Grace got her first Happy Meal. She immediate took the bun off of her burger and peeled off the cheese before she ate it.  I ordered bottled water and apple slices for her so she didn't get too much junk in her system.

I was supposed to put her in bed at 9:30 p.m. But we were having so much fun!

And she told me "Zma, I'm not tired!"  I didn't want our special evening to dissolve in tears or a power struggle. So she stayed up. Until midnight!  I felt myself nodding off a couple of times during Toy Story 2.  Then I'd hear a little voice shriek, "Zma, wake up!"  I am so glad I had that Diet Coke!

At midnight, we heard firecrackers and what sounded like canons going off in the neighborhood. I said, "Happy New Year" to Grace at which point she looked at me and said, "Zma, I'm tired. I need my crib!"

So I picked her up, we brushed our teeth and then I lay her gently down in her crib and covered her with her blankie.

Watching her sleep, I told myself I am blessed.

And I am!

While I was sitting at Arby's, I read from Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics by Christine Valtners Paintner, the following prayer. And then I drew my first mandala!

My therapist says I have a "lone wolf" personality.

I didn't have time to hoop, but yesterday, I did some Qi Gong in a Starbucks bathroom! Hence my new YouTube series "Qi Gong in Small Spaces". Hey,  you can't say I am not determined to get my daily exercise !

And now I must run. But I leave you with a mandala and a prayer!

The Canticle of the Creatures
by St. Francis of Assisi

"Most High, all-powerful,
good Lord,
yours is the praise,
the glory and the honor and every blessing.

To you alone, Most High,
do they belong,
and no one is mworthy
to speak your name.

Praised be you, my Lord
with all your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
who is the day through whom
you bring us light.

And he is lovely, shining
with great splendor,
for he heralds you, Most High.

Praised be you, my Lord,
through Sister Moon and Stars.
In heaven you have formed them,
lightsome and precious and fair.

And praised be you, my Lord,
through Brother Wind, through
air and cloud, through calm
and every weather by which
you sustain your creatures.

Praised be you, my Lord,
through Sister Water,
so very useful and humble,
precious and chaste.

Praised be you, my Lord
through Brother Fire,
by whom you light up
the night, and he is
handsome and merry,
robust and strong.

Praised be you, my Lord,
through our Sister, Mother Earth,
who sustains us and directs us
bringing forth all kinds of fruits
and colored flowers and herbs.

Praised be you, my Lord
through those who forgive
for your love
and who bear sickness and trial.

Blessed are those
who endure in peace,
for by you, Most High,
they will be crowned.

Praised be you, my Lord,
through our Sister Bodily Death
from whom no living being
can escape.

How dreadful for those
who die in mortal sin!
How blessed are those she
finds in your most holy will
for the second death
can do them no harm.

O praise and bless my Lord,
thank him and serve him
humbly but grandly."

Happy Friday!

Love,

Zita

My Prayer Mandala based on St. Francis: