2 posts tagged “prayer”

Tuesday was a wonderful culmination of dreams and hopes for our family. We are a political group. I married my husband, in fact, because the first time we went for coffee, he spoke so eloquently and interestingly on world affairs. And that vocabulary! Don't get me started. I knew from that evening in the Village over capuccino, that I would one day marry that man.

And now we have a passel of kids who were given exposure to newspapers, political discussions and current events with their Gerber peas and carrots. No small wonder then, that we all waited for the inauguration. I first spotted Barak Obama at the DNC in 2004 when he gave the keynote address. I knew then, that he was destined for greatness. I turned to Honey and said, "Okay, how soon can he run for president? He's it."

And now he is indeed  it. Leader for the United States, Leader of the Free World, Grand Poobah, the Great Kahuna. Wow. And he has inherited a pile of problems both internationally and nationally. It is a perilous time in the world and we are in the middle of an economic meltdown the like of which has not been seen in our lifetimes.

But the thing is, he can inspire people. Even people who didn't vote for him are willing to follow him because he is a leader. He has the indefinable specialness. Charisma. But more than that, President Obama is smart. He is a thinker. (Whoa. We haven't seen that in a while, have we?) The man not only reads books, he writes them. He is a scholar. He wants to build bridges with the world, not just bomb it. And he can accomplish so much not by doing it himself, but by inspiring each one of us to make it all happen.

I am a religious person and I have been praying fervently that God gives President Obama the guidance to make the right choices for our world because surely the things we do as a nation impact for good or evil what happens on the rest of the planet. I pray God protects him and his beautiful family. I pray that President Obama leads us into a brighter future using green technology that preserves the earth, leads us to creation of more good jobs, leads us out of our morass of selfishness and me-firstism, leads us to be the best we can be and to share our wealth with all God's creatures.

I don't know how any one person can live up to all the expectations put upon this man, but I pray God makes it possible, because now more than ever we need a great leader and President Obama may well be the one.  

I've decided I need a 12 Step Program for Life. No, I don't drink, smoke, do drugs (except really good Free Trade Coffee), don't have an eating disorder or gamble (except when I drive on the Turnpike) and I don't have any "isms", at least that I am aware of. But it seems every now and then that my life and habits need a lift and a plan to keep on keeping on.

So, I have decided to make my own plan for mental/spiritual/physical health. In the past few weeks, I have undertaken to read all of Julia Cameron's books on the The Artist's Way, Anne Lamott on life and religion (because even though we differ on theology, the basic outlook is similar) and have decided to take better care of me so I can take care of everyone else. In touch with my Higher Power? check. Healthy eating? check. More water? check. Daily exercise? check. Fresh air and eco-therapy? check. Nurturing my spiritual life? check. Doing something creative each day? check. Okay, so I am up to 7 steps. I don't have time for meetings, no patience for a sponsor. This will have to be the Steps of Good-Enough-This-Is-All-I-Can-Manage-At-The-Moment.

Now all I have to do is stay consistent. Just work the "steps" of keeping with it. Getting back on the horse/or wagon when I fall off.

As with most things, scheduling is everything. Getting up early is essential. Starting the day with the dawn prayer, fajr, is so much a way of life now after so many years, that I don't always consciously appreciate it as much as I should. It really helps to begin each day giving thanks and making supplication for more progress on the day's journey. Next come Cameron's morning pages (three, handwritten each morning first thing). It really seems to help me focus. Then I do my daily Qur'an which gives me a sense that no matter what, I am not in this alone. Whatever is too heavy for me to lift will be carried for me till I am stronger. I may do some writing or some yoga to relax and revive.

Next I wake up the gremlins. No, not the ones in my head. The real, actual ones to whom I gave birth. If any of them happens to wake up too early, I send him or her back to bed with a firm, "No, I am not on duty yet." Duty may include finding the cereal, listening to a litany of book plots, or explaining how a combustion engine works. I am so not an "attached parent". This is my time and I guard it jealously.

Once the day begins and the maelstrom of motherhood gets underway there will be little time for me, so these morning minutes are crucial to my mental health and to doing my steps. They help keep me centered for the rest of the day. It's now about 8:00. *SIGH* Time for me to clock in and keep on working the steps for another day.