The Choices We Make

August 24, 2021

             The hummingbirds are thick every morning at the feeders and will be through October, as migration traffic increases.  The puppy is crying because the sun is in her eyes and she can’t figure out what’s hurting her.  Even with the ceiling fan it’s barely cool enough to sit out here.  Pray for the folks who work outside.  So many people to pray for.  The wife and little son of a college friend who died last week of Covid.  Others who are so gravely ill.  Healthcare workers everywhere.  Teachers.  Decision makers.  Neighbors in harm’s way.  One could pray all day and not find this list’s end.  So we carry them in our hearts and do our best to keep our own selves safe.

             It’s no small thing, praying, closing the door on time and space as this world calculates them.   Entering the timelessness beyond, even for moments at a time, sheds perspective on this world’s troubles we otherwise don’t see.  Along with deeper breath, and breath’s corresponding strength.  And then there is the vibe, the energy that is generated in the atmosphere when and where people pray.  In every yoga class and church service.  In our Early Wednesday prayers, when no one wants to log out of the Zoom room.   

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             Two years ago in India, at the evening ashram services when I couldn’t understand a single word anybody said, I recognized the vibe of people aching for connection with Creator and Creation.  Every word or thought or ache of prayer is like a drop in some ocean of deep affection for this world, some deep desire for her healing.  We are not doing nothing when we pray, I think, but rather something quite significant.  We are choosing hope and healing in these days of sickness and death.  We are also choosing community with people we don’t even know – people who in their own languages and culture have also chosen hope and healing as the way through these difficult days.

Both photos taken at
​Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rajasthan, India