New World Anthem And New Earth Prayer

In the silence of this dawning day,  

I asked for a prayer for the Earth, 

but was given a vision instead. 

With a bird’s over-arching sight, I saw  

the overgrown and outdated factories  

that once spewed the dark poisons  

fueling man’s need for more,  

go dark and silent. 

After a brief time of dark and confused pain, 

when the children of Earth grasped and clashed to survive,  

I saw renewable lights springing up ’round the Earth, 

like bioluminescent flowers that find their light’s source only in the natural dark. 

People, like groggy children stumbling from their sleep, 

awoke in bewilderment to realize they’d slept so long 

and dreamt such things. 

And why, they wondered, 

had they dreamt so long such terrifying dreams of insufficiency, 

when all the while they’d lain sleeping in a paradise of plenty for all.  

With natural dark along with natural light restored,  

the earth's fever cooled. 

With its lungs now free to breathe deeply in, 

the earth drew up through its roots a cleansing breath,  

and exhaled its regenerative breath over every living thing. 

Looking deeply into the heavens now lit anew, 

the children of Earth saw a lion 

walking in its own sun-born light 

and carrying a bundle of wheat in its mouth. 

They knew well the meaning of this metaphor  

shown them in the language-symbols of man. 

For in this symbol they remembered the truth of  

the law of Universal supply  

that comes from the Universal light. 

In this vision they saw the son-light within,  

and the sun-light without, 

and remembered both their power to supply all needs, 

by shining on all as one. 

At last the eyes of Earth’s children were opened to see  

a light not just shining upon all living things, 

but also a light emerging up through all life as well. 

And by this shared vision of life’s light 

and its universal-supply,  

the sleeping mind of man awoke to find it had all it needed to live forever;  

love, earth, air water and sun. 

They saw the light without, 

in its unconditional radiance, 

clothing and feeding all their bodies safely in time. 

they saw too, the Light-within, 

renewing all that is eternal 

and keeping it only spiraling up forever. 

From their dark dreams of not-enough-for all,  

I watched the children of Earth emerge untouched 

through the open door of forgiveness, 

where there they found an ample Universe of simple and loving intent,  

that had been but waiting for them to enter.  

This was I shown in answer to my prayer for the Earth. 

This the vision that now lights my vast skies within, 

and holds my heart secure when darkness seems all there could be. 

Children of Earth, 

do not fear the darkened nights ahead, 

when the world appears to be collapsing in upon its own vain and ignorant weight. 

Only see them as they are;  

the times when we waken to what we already share forever 

and never need go without again. 

How beautiful this re-birth of our gracious and sheltering Earth. 

How sacred in Its promise, 

even as it struggles to be born from its dark age of the greed of fear, 

and into its whole and richly radiant self 

(Excerpt from New World Anthems and New Earth Prayers)