The clouded sun
lights the sea,
gulls cry out
their morning welcome
and the daily news arrives.
The greater the disturbance
the deeper I reach
to nurture the garden.
Watered with silence,
fed with forgiveness,
the harvest is spirit
and upon this altar
I am lifted.

Courtesy of Aldo Leopold Foundation

Reading of “Nurture the Garden” with music by Kiev Chamber Choir.

Today is the day the Morning Star rises,
today the day of the moon and sun;
today the wind and ebbing tide,
the color green yet full in the earth.
As mandalas are drawn
in the temples of Bhutan
each day the heavens are painted
and the ground brings forth.
All this I compress
into words of thanks
to the artist of the sky
and guardians of the deep,
at one with the mystery
as the autumn sun travels south.

Reading of “Today is the Day” with music by Bill Evans.

What will I sketch
upon sea and sky?
How can I add
to the living pallet?
I wake with the sun,
go down with the moon.
Looking out at the expanse
I find myself where
heaven and earth meet.
Don’t mistrust this dawn,
the stillness you might find;
in that emptiness
is your salvation.

Reading of “In that Emptiness” with music by Ahura

The fire of the sun ignites the moon
to a golden lamp in the night sky.
We too thrive on solar light,
rising with the earth to father star.
Don’t let pettiness fool you,
we are made of the sun
and children of a holy world.
No longer taught the good road
we must find our bearings within.
Four forces are woven in our life forms,
four directions guide our fate.
Let us offer radiance
in this darkened night
with mercy as our counsel.
Though we speak in different tongues
we are but one upon the sacred earth.

Reading of “Upon the Sacred Earth” with music by Olga Kharitidi & Jim Wilson.