Warning: This isn't a coherent post.
Caroline Myss, a former journalist, wrote in one of her essays, The Collective Soul, the following eye-opening incident. She was having a conversation with two friends, a political chitchat about the controversies surrounding Bill Clinton. Things had began to heat up when Caroline noticed one man, who remained silent, by the side. She asked him for her opinion about the issue, to which the man replied, "I have no right to an opinion because I did not pray for him. Therefore, I owe him an apology. He doesn't owe me one."
Ms. Myss eventually interweaves this story to her most profound insight, that the private negativities of each individual or citizen can determine the quality of the nation's spiritual energy and its leaders' decisions.
Obviously, the man's words bear a kernel of wisdom which rarely manifests itself among us Filipinos. Leaders need our sincere prayers and, when prayers aren't enough, that's the right time we use constructive criticism and decisive action.
In extension, it's not only leaders which need our prayers. I, on the other hand, can take something slightly different from this story.
One of the most subtle changes I've experienced within myself started when I began including other people in my morning prayer. At the start, the usual suspects would come to mind. Mama. Papa. My siblings. I prayed for my family, that we remain whole and well. Then, I included my friends. Then, later on, I included people I just happened to meet. The jeep driver, the passersby, and so on. At the beginning, the inclusion of other people in my prayers was a deliberate interruption to my self-centered petitions. As time went by, the habit began to take shape and it has made me feel less critical about my condition and has granted me a softer heart.
Right now, I'm praying for someone. I'm praying that God will give her a miracle this October. I pray that her estranged father can come home at last.
Caroline Myss, a former journalist, wrote in one of her essays, The Collective Soul, the following eye-opening incident. She was having a conversation with two friends, a political chitchat about the controversies surrounding Bill Clinton. Things had began to heat up when Caroline noticed one man, who remained silent, by the side. She asked him for her opinion about the issue, to which the man replied, "I have no right to an opinion because I did not pray for him. Therefore, I owe him an apology. He doesn't owe me one."
Ms. Myss eventually interweaves this story to her most profound insight, that the private negativities of each individual or citizen can determine the quality of the nation's spiritual energy and its leaders' decisions.
Obviously, the man's words bear a kernel of wisdom which rarely manifests itself among us Filipinos. Leaders need our sincere prayers and, when prayers aren't enough, that's the right time we use constructive criticism and decisive action.
In extension, it's not only leaders which need our prayers. I, on the other hand, can take something slightly different from this story.
One of the most subtle changes I've experienced within myself started when I began including other people in my morning prayer. At the start, the usual suspects would come to mind. Mama. Papa. My siblings. I prayed for my family, that we remain whole and well. Then, I included my friends. Then, later on, I included people I just happened to meet. The jeep driver, the passersby, and so on. At the beginning, the inclusion of other people in my prayers was a deliberate interruption to my self-centered petitions. As time went by, the habit began to take shape and it has made me feel less critical about my condition and has granted me a softer heart.
Right now, I'm praying for someone. I'm praying that God will give her a miracle this October. I pray that her estranged father can come home at last.
No comments:
Post a Comment