Invocation of the Creator By the Yoruba people (translated by Ulli Beier)
Meditation
To invoke is to call in, call down, call out. This Yoruba invocation is a kind of hymn to the creator, a celebration of the creator’s benevolent qualities. I find myself in prayer asking for the same qualities to dwell in me. Patience, quiet perspective, laughter. To live with the eye full of joy. To bring the elements of life fully to life in all their splendor. But what does it mean to rest in the sky like a swarm of bees? The other divine qualities are self-contained. A swarm of bees buzzes with the vitality of all creation, not just an invocation but an infusion of the sweetness of all that is. What qualities do you ascribe to the origin of things? What qualities do you want to call within?
Todd Breyfogle, Denver, Colorado
