Tina Lilley

May we never take for granted our time here on earth, and this time that we have together.

May we spend more time with the people we love, and less time worrying about what might never happen.

For each of us, may we look to the past so that we may learn, and grow ever into the person we hope to be. And as we look to the future, may we smile. May we keep possibility burning like a bonfire in our own hearts.

May we have the courage to face hardship with grace. May we be quick to forgive and slow to hate. May we treat each other with kindness and remember that to be human is to make mistakes.

May we have mercy on our own selves when we most need it.

In every heartache, let there be wisdom. After every dark night, may we let the dawn into our hearts. No matter how bad things get, may we again have the sun on our faces. May we be better for it all, and may we better know the joy that runs through our veins: this is the joy of being alive.

May we stop every once in a while, just to breathe.

May we stop to see the beauty still left around us. May we see the beauty in each other, and the beauty in ourselves.

For those we love who have gone before us, may we honor them by how we live our own lives. Let us remember them with a smile. We will keep them in our hearts, and through our love bring them to life.

May we love each day like it was our last.

May we love each other like it’s what we’re here to do.

May the love we send out into the world be the love that comes back to our own front door.

And wherever we go, may we find ourselves at home, underneath the same sky as everything and everyone we’ve ever loved.

Amen. Let it be so.

– Jennifer Williamson