I am a quiet person in general, so those who meet me don’t really know what is going on under the surface. I am content to leave it that way for the most part, because less is more. The less people know about me, the less I have to contend with jealousy, gossip, and the less I am persecuted by critical judgment. So I walk my talk quietly, and try to live from the perspective that my actions stem from my convictions toward the good of all.
One of the things I most greatly enjoy about myself is a prayer life. You don’t have to know me and I don’t have to know you, but if you cross my path and I witness your suffering, I am going to breathe a quiet word to God for you.
Just using the name “God” here strikes the chord on the politically correct, and I am going to spit now on the politically correct. It sure has gotten in the way of honesty. I was once asked to stop using the word “God” in a healing group I was part of because people took offense at it. Hey, I wasn’t preaching about anything! I just wanted to ask people’s permission if I could pray to a higher power on their behalf. They said “Yes!” and then complained to the manager of the group. Why do we lie like that? If they had said, “I am not comfortable with the idea of God and I don’t want you to pray for me,” I would have accepted their answer without condescension or criticism. It’s simply that the word “God” is more simple and accessible than finding many words for that higher power.
Sometimes I just say to a person, “I am giving you a good wish.” I let it go at that. I have no clue as to what ideology I might accidentally cross or offend, when my only wish is to bless! So I do it quietly. I know as a healer that if my wish is not wanted it will not be received, so I am quite willing to add to my tiny quiet prayer that if this person does not want my good wish (or my prayer) let the intended energy go to someone who will benefit by it.
What people don’t realize in all the confusion about the meaning of the word “God,” is that it originally stemmed from the word, “Good.” Maybe a simple blessing could be, “The good be with you.” Would an atheist argue over that? And does it really matter in the larger scheme of life what my ego or yours has to say about the matter? Considering the relationship of the microcosm to the macrocosm, each of us is a relatively short lived being in the face of universal time, so any thoughts I have about the matter will probably not survive long after my death, and then only in the memory of those who really cared about me, what I thought, and what I have to say. And their memories will only last as long as they themselves last. So not to put a negative spin on things, but instead I am keeping it relative.
Keeping it relative is a more comfortable way for me to live anyway. It’s like I said before about keeping a low profile; if I do not cross anyone’s ideology they will have nothing to defend to me or I to them and we can go along getting along without critical judgment or destructive criticism. It’s the ego that likes to be right any way. I have fallen into that group of smug righteous know-it-alls until I caught myself at it, and decided I would rather strive to be humble from the perspective of accepting other people as they are. Live and let live.
Sometimes that is easier said than done, however. I fall into the group of people who was extremely tired of the last four years of the circus in the White House, and now that the orange haired rumpus is not going away quietly, on cue, I am left considering those millions of people who now feel the way I did when my preferred candidate lost in 2016. I am taking myself out of the political game: I want to join my shamanic friends now who are visualizing a greener world, where there is no separation from Nature, and people can live without fear, and their needs are met, and we can talk companionably together. I do not know the mechanics of this. I simply know that it is now time for me to become the prayer more fully in how I live, how I walk my talk, and how I honor my calling. It is a life in faith.
May I leave you with the blessing: “May the good be with you!”?
Urd's Well 