Begin
with Prayer
“Just as
the body needs food to survive, the soul needs prayer to thrive.”
Naomi Levy
(Einstein and the Rabbi, p.69)
Rabbi Naomi Levy writes
in Einstein and the Rabbi that the most frequent request she
gets is, “Pray for me, Rabbi.” It is as though people feel
the prayer must be said correctly, or that they have no right to pray
at all, or that they simply don't know how. Her response is always
the same: “What is it that you want me to say to God?” As
they tell her, they begin to realize that prayer is just
that—speaking what's on your heart to the divine Source of
strength. Even if what's on your mind is routine life, if you simply
add prayer to the mix, you may be surprised at the result. Not that
some divine fairy Godfather waves a magic wand and gives you whatever
you want, but simply because the act of intentionally calling upon
that which is infinite for help with whatever the day holds gives us
confidence that we are not alone.
Levy recommends that
whatever is on your mind when you first wake in the morning, whether
it is family, or work, or ordinary preparations for the day ahead,
that you simply invite the Divine to be part of it, to guide it, to
support and strengthen you for whatever comes your way. And not only
that, but express thanksgiving for the night's sleep and for another
new day. Such gifts. Your prayer does not have to be “correct.”
It does not have to long; it doesn't even have to be words. It can be
a breath, a sigh, an intention to connect with the Source. After all
it was breath that brought the world into being!
This is the first day of
a new year, a new decade. Regardless of where you live in the world, the next decade portends to be a momentous time. We need to bring every benevolent
energy we can summon into it. Each of us has to do our part in
holding the ground of our being, and keeping our hearts and minds
open. We can make this decade different and better—for ourselves,
for our children, for each other, and for the earth—but it will
take all of us breathing together. I challenge you, as Rabbi Levy
does her students, to begin and end each day with a prayer of hope
and gratitude. Let's see where that leads us.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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