Monthly Archives: January 2023

Intellectual Joy from Focus on Legacy

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I find intellectual pleasure when focusing on ideals and principles. Words and concepts publicly adopted are crucial historically when such much later form the cornerstones for policies. Today, we celebrate Martin Luther King. On other days, we focus on religious leaders, or politicians, or particular men or women honored throughout history.

What is meaningful to me is watching the history of an event or speech move from an ideal to a reality. Sometimes it takes a long time; other times the social change is quick.

My father, a minister, and my mother, a poet also left a powerful legacy for their children. Each of us care about others and entered into helping professions. Today, I also focus on their legacy for their children. I thank my parents for their legacy they passed down to me.

Public and private organizations routinely honor members for their contributions and legacies to their societies. One only has to read the background of each honoree to learn of their impressive, often selfless acts.

Today, I pause to focus on “Legacies” as without such, we would not have ideals and principles from which to develop concrete policies and programs. My joy comes from focus on legacy today. It is good to have values from which we become inspired and aspire to better acts and actions between our fellow men, women, families, neighbors, and communities.

#gratitudeultra

Gratitude For Prayer

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Recently a stranger approached me at a bakery and asked if she might pray for me. I said “sure” and then she asked if she might put her hand on me while praying. Again I said “sure” as I listened to particular words in her prayer with her young daughter looking up at me. It was not a typical experience. Immediately after another stranger (on the other side of me while waiting in line for the order) told me about her personal story with health issues. I listened and wished her well. While these types of conversational exchanges are increasingly emerging throughout my everyday life, and I am deeply grateful for each and every human interaction, I wonder “why” persons are drawn to me to pray or engage within deeply meaningful exchanges.

I firmly believe that “healing” during any illness occurs as a result of medical science in part, but most importantly, occurs because of the power of prayer. I am learning that the “healing experience” is a collective one, shared mainly by those who have experienced the deepest valleys and highest mountaintops of fears and hopes. Prayer is at the center of most monumental human experience.

Personally, as I grow older I want to learn more about prayer. For example, do you know that there are many different types of prayer (from gotquestions.org)?

  • The prayer of faith
  • The prayer of agreement
  • The prayer of request or supplication
  • The prayer of thanksgiving
  • The prayer of worship
  • The prayer of intercession
  • The prayer of imprecation
  • Praying in the Spirit
  • An invocation prayer

There is great power in prayer and I am grateful for each and every prayer I hear, participate in, offer to God, and receive. I feel such gratitude each and every time someone or a group of individuals prays. How ’bout you?

#gratitudeultra