Paulo Coelho writes about a prayer he found while on his commemorative journey in Russia. The text was found in a Church in Novosibirsk and was in Russian. The translator who made it understandable to Coelho mentioned that the inscription was part of the Ojibwa tradition. Although I have never heard of this tradition, I found the prayer very powerful. Here it is:
"I come to thee as one of your children. I am fallible and small; I need Your wisdom and strength.
Let me walk in Your beauty, and make my eyes always see the red and purple of dusk. Make my hands respect the things that You have created, and enable my ears to understand Your voice.
Make me wise so that I can absorb what You have taught my people and learn the lessons that you have hidden in each leaf and each rock.
I beg you for strength and wisdom, not to be better than my brothers but so that I can defeat the worst enemy I have: myself. In that way, my spirit will be able to return to you without sin."
Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.
Some signs to look for: - A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
- An unmistakeable ability to enjoy each moment.
- A loss of interest in judging other people.
- A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
- A loss of interest in conflict.
- A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
- Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
- Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
- Frequent attacks of smiling.
- An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
- An increased susceptibility to the love offered by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
