Prayer in Action
© 2017 by Joyce Mason
Growing up Catholic,
I was taught to offer up my suffering. The nuns said that suffering, when
united with Jesus’s suffering on the Cross, helps convert sinners and atones
for sins.
That sounds dark, preachy and almost borderline masochistic
from my 2017 view of spirituality, but I realized it has both something to
offer on its own face and the potential for a more positive spin. If we tone
down the punishing language a bit, sinners and sins are just people who miss
the mark of best behavior and sins are errors made in learning how to really
live. Our suffering can lead to better behavior and paths for others by their
option to learn from our mistakes and our wisdom to share what we learn from
our own pain. All relationships, I’m sure even our one with Spirit, are about
sharing joys, woes and growth.
The
astrological/mythical spin. The idea of offering up suffering is the same
thing mythical Chiron did when he chose to take on Prometheus’s punishment for
him, giving up his own immortality in the process. Prometheus is a symbol for Uranus, society, freedom and the higher mind, the same
pool into which we all pour our pain. Poolside we are witness to great acts of
love and altruism, compassion and to suggestions for ways to do—or not to do—things.
If you think everyone’s suffering doesn’t affect everyone else, think of the
Americans for Disabilities Act and how there is now access for all in public
places. That’s a blessing for everyone, because even if you have no mobility
issues now, as we age, most of us get wobbly and need a cane or other assistive device.
The positive spin. What
if we were to do the same thing with acts of kindness? Offer them up not just
to the individual who directly benefits from them but to be aware how they
benefit us all. In doing these things, we put more kindness into the Cosmic
Cloud, where all acts are documented just like our written documents are saved
in another kind of Cloud. The idea is similar to the Akashic record of all
happenings. Think of it as putting money in a world bank where kindness, good
deeds and fun add to the world’s wealth while crime, bitterness and power trips
are like bank robberies and major losses. What can we do to keep the world
afloat and everyone’s needs met?
Awareness is the key.
In these times of turbulent change where the festering boil of hate, racism and
an icy winter of discontent can easily cloud the vision of truth (speaking of
clouds), acts of kindness and consideration are needed more than ever. Example
at Walmart yesterday: I was waiting in line for my deli order when a man who
said he had “terrible vision” wanted directions from the clerk to the bread
aisle. He clearly could not see where the deli man was directing him several
aisles down, so I offered to take him there while my order was being filled. Since
it was still a bit of a wait when I got back to the deli, I took the extra
minutes to compliment the woman next to me on her choice of glasses frames. We
had a pleasant chat.
Little things, but they benefited two people and everyone
in the Cloud. I imagine it like one of those electronic boards on the
Commodities Exchange. Acts of Kindness up two. Yet the energy of the entire
universe is a web of light that each person’s actions affects. I believe that thinking or saying to yourself " ... and I'm offering this up" adds energy to those acts and pitches them into the Cloud with extra strength.
This is a simple idea—offering these things up not only for
the direct recipient but for all of us. Imagine what peace would come from strengthening
the Cloud with love, knowing how light overcomes darkness. What a return on investment for the real wealth of a world that works for all.
~~~
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