"For the Greatest Possible Good" Reprise

Sunrise [Photo by Steve Locke]

Eighteen months or so ago I posted a blog entitled For the Greatest Possible Good. In it I wrote about a prayer that I encountered many years ago that I have used to replace those short prayers that most people utter at times of stress or when they feel violated—you know, small prayers such as Damn you, you S.O.B. and the like.

Since I have recently been “flamed”—is that still a concept as it was years ago when I was involved in one of the news groups?—based upon a comment I made on a blog, I believe again mentioning this positive little prayer is worth the effort.

No, I wasn’t attacked by the author of the blog; in fact, the same flamer regularly attacks her. I probably wouldn’t even have known that I was assaulted had another reader not emailed me out of concern for my possible hurt feelings. It was that email that reminded me of the Light Prayer and so I responded:

Many years ago I encountered a little prayer that it was suggested one pray rather than reacting with road rage when some driver cuts one off or otherwise irritates one. It goes something like this: "May the Light of God shine upon __________ for the greatest possible good." So I pray it not only when I am driving but also when I encounter the _____s of this world, leaving the definition of "the greatest possible good" up to God. Then I wipe the memory from my mind until the next time the person attacks or flames me.

I suppose that’s a good lesson for me to remember on a Sunday morning. And since I was reminded of it, I thought I’d again blog about it as sort of a reprise of my previous blog post.

Blessings and much shalom to all of you on this fine Sunday morning!