Selma

Yesterday I watched Selma and my only reaction, afterward, was to surrender and pray.  I was inspired to write the following prayer:

Dear God, the omnipresent, omnipotent presence of energy that manifests in the love that nurtures a seed into a beautiful rose and light into a being like me, I don’t understand you completely, nor do I know you fully, but I see you in the work of women and men like Martin Luther King, Jr., and I feel you in the quietest moments of my life.

I pray to you that when the time comes for me to stand up for something that is bigger than myself, bigger than I have stood for thus far, that you allow me the courage and wisdom to act, even in the presence of “the fog of death.” May I live my life standing up for something greater than I ever imagined, greater than fear itself. I ask you to allow me to serve in the greatest capacity possible so that I may continue to be part of the efforts of the incredible women and men that came before me to lay the ground of dignity and justice.

I pray that I will not stand on the sidelines when the time comes that the purpose of my life is the most significant. Even when my hands tremble with apprehension, my feet stumble with trepidation, and my heart stops with perturbation at the sight of the human capacity for hate, violence, and destruction, help me find in my soul the single most powerful generator to move me forth to action – your indistinguishable presence of love.

I pray that the space of stillness and quiet that I have created in my being be enough to hear your call when it will most matter, and I hope that the times when I’ve felt your call, were the times you most needed me to answer. May I summon even a small portion of the courage the men and women of Selma summoned when they walked across that bridge on “Bloody Sunday.”

I pray that I may fulfill the purpose for which I was created, that it may serve to bring me and those around me closer to that which makes us feel whole. That my fear and comfort not be stronger than my capacity to stand up for the truths of love and manifestation of compassion. That I don’t turn a blind eye to the oppressed in order to disguise the illusion of security. I pray that my heart will overcome the fear of vulnerability, and that I may face all that may come with a pure and true heart. May I step into the greatness you have delivered for me, as a vehicle for your work and vision.

Thank you.