by Reverend Misa
I was getting ready for a ceremony that was to take place in a few days. I was listening to the instructions of my elder when she said, “And this is when you will offer your life prayer.”
My hands were getting sweaty and my blood pressure was going up and I wasn’t even sure I understood what she was telling me. “What is a life prayer?” I asked.
“That is a prayer of commitment for your life’s work,” she replied.
“Ok, I was right,” I thought. “She really means for my whole life.”
Considering I had no idea at that time what I was here to do, I had no idea what commitment I was willing to make for my entire life. I don’t make those kind of commitments lightly, and now I was being asked to to make such a commitment in ceremony.
I suppose I could have told her I wasn’t ready to do this, but the truth was I wanted to know. So I spent days just contemplating quietly what commitment I could offer my life to. I thought about all kinds of options, but I was waiting for that feeling telling me this is it—this is my life’s expression.
I decided to simply wait for the moment and allow it to come from deep within me. When I finally said the prayer, it was so obvious, profound, and it was a pure and an authentic expression of who I am.
That single prayer brought tremendous focus to my life. When I’m confused about what I need to be doing, I reflect on that prayer. The details of who, what, where, when and how I fulfill that prayer have proven to be much less important than keeping my vision firmly fixed on the intention of that prayer. I have discovered that one prayer for your whole life is a lot to live up to.
