Spirituality is not a hobby, not another task added to life. It is a way of locating the sanctity that hides within the mundane.
One of the casualties of modern life is contemplation. Our ancestors walked to work each morning and at evening, they walked home. There was time to consider, reflect, wonder and dream.
There are so few opportunities built into our lives for reflection and for contemplation. It takes an act of will to find that kind of quiet time. The Rabbis understood that without order to our prayers, the tasks of life and the temptations of leisure would soon overcome our commitment to pray. They knew that given the chance, Dow Jones, weather reports and sig-alerts would invade our silence. “You give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you the world,” shouts one station.
No. Give yourself three minutes and you’ll find your soul.
Stand, if for but a few moments, in the presence of eternity; and look back at your life. Listen to the voice of God. And at the end of the day, instead of the American ritual of closing the day with the 11 o’clock news and its daily recitation of murder, rape, sports and weather, give yourself the chance to recognize the gift of this day past to see how far you have come on your journey, whom you have touched today and who has touched you. Take three minutes to celebrate the life you have lived today and give thanks.
Prayer is not about changing the mind of God. It is about changing our minds. Prayer is not a request for beneficence to rain down on us from above. Prayer is a way to find the resources within us to meet life with hope and courage. Prayer is not about bringing heaven down. It is about lifting us up.
