When I started this blog I had visions of sharing inspiring and profound insights into living life with some incredible level of inner peace and wisdom. Personally I’ve found that unique struck by lightning moments of wisdom appear infrequently. In waiting to write about those moments, there is not much to say. Everyday life is and continues to be everyday life.
The real focus of this blog is the daily practice of Prayers for Peace. It has been for several years, I just wasn’t aware of it. Praying daily for others has changed me, though not in any way that seems instantly very inspiring. I’ve lost sight of where I was in my life when I started on this path. In reflecting on how I feel about where I am now, the change in me is incredibly profound.
I have gained enough wisdom to realize that the choices I make are the choices I make. I can’t change choices made in the past. I can stop judging them. I will continue to make choices in the future that may or may not seem so wise in the moment. I don’t have to fear which choice will be right and which will be wrong. I don’t have to repeat bad experiences to prove I’d make a different choice. Praying for peace for others has changed my perspective, including how I perceive my life. When one’s perspective shifts, it shifts for everything.
One Million Prayers for Peace
The original goal for these prayers for peace was to complete one million prayers. It has taken seven years to get a quarter of the way there. Initially, I had little idea of who I was going to pray for. Daily prayers consisted of prayers for each of the people and animals in my life, including people that crossed my path during the day. Current events and the people they impacted were added in. People I don’t like were included.
As an accountant, I like to have things add up. I have to plan, strategize and calculate how to reach my goals. I have spent years beating myself up over not reaching my dream goals year after year, and yet this one goal of one million prayers for peace is always right on track. In an effort to reach the daily quota of prayers per day, prayers for places and its inhabitants were added in. I’ve prayed my way around the world via the cities, towns, and villages (as best I could find) on every continent. As for accuracy, every named place may not have been included in every area but the region was intended to be inclusive of specific places I missed.
This has been a solitary project that has left me feeling more connected to the world I live in and am a part of. However, lest I become a hermit in some cave on some distant mountain, I participate in a couple of prayer circles that provide me with the opportunity of connecting with others offering loving kindness to others as a group. Offering loving kindness to those who cross my path during the day provides an immediate positive connection to others. This connection has always been there, I just did not have an awareness of it before starting on this path.
There have been days when the prayers are a soul-fulfilling vibration of love, peace, and happiness. Other days start out feeling like a chore but always end feeling lighter. Each prayer carries its own vibration. Each one is unique. As a practice, they take a certain amount of time during each day. They have become a part of my day rather than the steps outlined toward reaching a goal. The goal has become less important as the habit of the practice has taken root. The goal has become the journey.
May the energies of love, peace, and happiness reverberate through your day.