To tie in with our new cycle – ‘Falling Down’ – I wrote this litany. We are using it as part of a prayer ritual at the beginning of our gatherings in this cycle, spoken as people take a handful of sand and let it run though their fingers. Somehow I was trying to create a simple ritual to capture that sense that our mistakes and failings are not unimportant but necessary in becoming who we are.
A Litany of Falling Down
The things left undone,
the words not spoken,
the mistakes made,
the opportunities squandered,
the risks not taken,
the chances missed,
the easy way taken,
the corners cut,
the times I played it safe,
the playing of percentages,
the moment of weakness,
the deed not done,
the times I saved face,
the unintended consequences,
the stupid, stupid, decision,
the overreaching and overstretching,
the times I just didn’t cut it,
the choice I have to live with,
the times when I simply wasn’t good enough,
the moment lost never to return,
the times I gave in,
all enfolded in my becoming,
all fragments of my being,
all finding peace and rest in God’s good care of me
[repeat]