Brother Richard

Not that we would be formally meditating instead of doing them,

but that we would bring relaxed, awake awareness to bear on each one of them.

Within the tradition, dedicating awareness to the actions of the day includes dedicating the merit of these activities

recognizing that we can surrender them as prayer, that we can live them as prayer, that we can do them not just for ourselves, but for others.

Washing my hands, I can wash my hands to cleanse them.

But in the moment of washing, I can be aware of the water flowing over my hands.

I can have gratitude for the gift of water.

And I can also go further and offer this action, this experience as a prayer of intercession for all those who do not have water, for those who are in need.

I can cultivate with this an inner and deeper sense of gratitude for the gift that I have received and an intention to share my giftedness with others.

This is one of the great steps of the little way of Therese.

Recognizing that there is no action, however small, that when combined with loving awareness

does not become an instrument of blessing in the world.

So for a moment, once again, cast your mind over the things that await you today and make the intention now to try so far as you can to dedicate or consecrate these moments

towards love, towards compassion, towards peace, towards being a channel of divine grace in the world.

And in order to be present to these moments when they arise,

We can have a moment before we enter each activity where we breathe consciously, invoke divine presence, and dwell as fully as we can in the moment at hand.

In this way, the very act of attention becomes an act of prayer, an act of transformation in the world.

So once again, looking over the day ahead, make the resolution to begin each one of these actions with awareness, with breath, with intention, with attention.

Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in.

Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out.