Calm & Prayerful

 

I saw a quote from one of our modern Orthodox saints recently that said to always be “calm and prayerful”.  

So, so simple.  It has attached itself to my consciousness and seized my imagination for some unknown reason.

I find myself reminding myself of it from time to time as I wander the hospital or when I am at home in the evening.

I added “C&P” to my phone’s home screen to assure it stays in my awareness throughout the course of the day.

Lord knows I look at that silly thing enough.  It’s like I’ve tricked myself into turning a negative into a positive.

But boy do the days challenge me in various and sundry ways to lose my cool, to feel irritated, to want to lash out.

Frustration tells me I’m trying to force the square peg of my own understanding into the round hole of faith.

(Woody Woodpecker was able to do it in the cartoons of my youth, but the laws of physics did not apply to him!)

So, I keep thinking about it.  It’s so simple.  I immediately take a deep breath and say a prayer of some kind.

“Always be calm & prayerful” makes me available to the wider world instead of being so insular, sad, and alone.

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