On this day, which happens to be my birthday, I pause to give thanks for what I should give thanks for every day.
I begin with the great gift of life.
I thank you God for simply being alive, for the gift of breath, heart, and spirit.

omid safi, as a four year olod for simply being alive, for the gift of breath, heart, and spirit.

Thank you for the love through which I was conceived,
Thank you for my parents, for the love with which you raised us.

Thank you for the suffering and sacrifice.
It is a gift that I can never pay back to, but I live every day to pay it forward to my own children and friends.

I am reminded that all of us are born through some one else’s pain, and raised through sacrifice.  From the very beginning, love and suffering go hand in hand.  And it remains that way.   I give thanks for the love, and give thanks for all who sacrifice every day.   I pray that my love for them bears the fragrance of the love you showered us with.

Thank you family, for living this love every day.
Thank you for all those who sacrifice privately, unacknowledged.
Thank you for my teachers for having taught me.
Thank you for my friends, for filling my heart.
Thank you for my children, for teaching me a love that knows no bounds.

Grateful, I am, for this life.
Grateful I am for this love unleashed.

May this life, this day, this breath, be spend in spreading compassion,
in standing up for all that is just and beautiful, and alleviating suffering.

May this day, and every day, be one spent in love and service.