Whatever you've been through and have had to learn how to carry, may you be free now.

This is a prayer for peace for all of us who've known the power of grief and the balm of friendship. This is for us who've been touched by the hands of despair but who still choose life.

Freedom may mean something different to each of us, but the kind of freedom I'm asking for is the freedom to choose who we are in the wake of the darkness we've known. This is the freedom of the heart and mind.

Wherever you are now -- wherever you've been and wherever you're going next -- may you open your heart to the freedom that's still available to you, whatever it is you decide that freedom means for you.

May You Be Free // A Prayer for Peace

May you lay claim to this new life of yours. 

May you grow stronger because of the hardships you’ve survived. May your time in the dark teach you the values of courage and community and tenderness. May you continue that path in the light, toward the rediscovery of yourself.

May you gain new insight from your tragedies, a higher wisdom that only becomes available once you’ve traversed the lows of life.

May you stumble upon grace in the most unlikely places.

May you be free from the pull of the death you’ve encountered and may you look anew at the time that’s been given to you. May notice the miracle of taking a breath.

May you learn how to use what’s happened to you so that it becomes something more than just “good” or “bad.” May these things instead become what propels you into small acts of purpose and care.

In other words, may you be free from the idea of how life “should have been.”

May you instead embrace what’s still beautiful, what’s still left for you to do. May you take ownership of the time you still have left in this world. 

May you locate in your heart all those places you once felt defeated. Look at those places with admiration for all the ways they’ve made you softer, stronger. Look at how you’ve been humbled and heightened. Look with forgiveness and awe at the stories your scars tell.

May you come to find forgiveness for yourself.

May you understand that your feelings are your own, your thoughts can be changed, and you are your own keeper.

May you continue to become the source of love you've been waiting for.

May you feel empowered enough to take some risks in your recovery and relationships. May you see that self-advocacy and setting boundaries are a part of working towards a common goal of freedom for all.

May you feel the kinship you share with every living thing you see and every stranger you pass on the streets. Look with wonder and reverence at the stories their hearts could tell. Listen and listen and listen.

May you come to the conclusion that there is so much love you have left to do.

May you give yourself the freedom to be surprised by your own unending capacity for love and transformation.

In all these ways and many more, may you be free.

. . .

Tell me:

Which part of this prayer do you need the most right now?

Tell me in the comments. What you share is part of our collective healing and freedom.

Much love,

Jen

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