Lord let me find back the lost treasure of time:
Time for gentle listening to a friend,
for sharing the play of a child,
For consoling a suffering fellow man,
For thinking without strain,
for labour without pressure.
Time to delight in birds and flowers,
blooming trees and lustrous green.
Time to enjoy music, friends and meals,
Time to be silent and alone,
time to be quietly at home,
Time to be present to your mystery.
Free me from the tyranny of time urgency.
Let time not possess me neither
the pressure of daily concerns.
Let me not cram every moment with useful
or exciting things to do or say.
Let my life be a gentle preparation
for the pure and precious moments
of listening to you.
— Adrian Van Kaam, Spirituality and The Gentle Life