Your post is like finding a penny today, Jane! I’m catching up on reading after a 7-day trip taking my granddaughter to National Honor Choir rehearsal/concert in Cincinnati. All that to say that the last song they sang incorporated the peace prayer of St. Francis, a prayer I had not heard or thought about for quite some time. Something about 215 elementary school students singing a prayer to be an instrument of peace and to sow love made a lump form in my throat and tears spring to my eyes. It was so moving.
And then I hop on Substack to see what I missed at TFLMS and read this! My Higher Power is pointing me to this prayer, and I’m going to spend some time meditating on it for at least this week. So much goodness there! As for the seeking to understand rather than to be understood--this brought to mind a family member who used to trap me into conversations where she whined about wanting to be understood by me and other family members, never seeking to look outward but always focusing on herself. I think we have to find balance, for sure, and I can certainly dive into my pit of self-pity and wallow in it when I feel misunderstood. This prayer is a good reminder that I am my best self when I am focusing outwardly.
Your post is like finding a penny today, Jane! I’m catching up on reading after a 7-day trip taking my granddaughter to National Honor Choir rehearsal/concert in Cincinnati. All that to say that the last song they sang incorporated the peace prayer of St. Francis, a prayer I had not heard or thought about for quite some time. Something about 215 elementary school students singing a prayer to be an instrument of peace and to sow love made a lump form in my throat and tears spring to my eyes. It was so moving.
And then I hop on Substack to see what I missed at TFLMS and read this! My Higher Power is pointing me to this prayer, and I’m going to spend some time meditating on it for at least this week. So much goodness there! As for the seeking to understand rather than to be understood--this brought to mind a family member who used to trap me into conversations where she whined about wanting to be understood by me and other family members, never seeking to look outward but always focusing on herself. I think we have to find balance, for sure, and I can certainly dive into my pit of self-pity and wallow in it when I feel misunderstood. This prayer is a good reminder that I am my best self when I am focusing outwardly.