A Beautiful Prayer

A friend emailed me a prayer this morning (author unknown), and it was one that is so touching and so accurate for how we should try to approach life and treat others that I will post it here. Adopting these thoughts reminds us to have both gratitude and compassion - a potent combination of energy and emotion that puts us in a place to create miracles around us. Often prayers just become recited words, but the imagery of this prayer provides situations that we can truly relate to in our daily lives, offering a reminder of both where we are and where we want to be on our spiritual path.

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together .

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love . It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

If you send this to people, then you have a chance to touch them. You won't get any wish for material things, however you might just find a piece of serenity and the warmth of God's touch.

Read this prayer, feel it, connect with it and live it. If you do so, the feelings of gratitude and compassion that it evokes will certainly cause positive changes and miracles in your life that will reverberate around you.

You may feel inspired to add your own "verses" to remember yourself, or share through the comment link below. There are so many situations in which we need to remember to show love and compassion, rather than annoyance or judgment. The more we recognize them, the easier it is to change our behavior.

May you feel blessings yourself and provide blessings for others.
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