Shake Us Out Of Our Complacency

Dear friends,

Many of us will be familiar with the well-known prayer of St.

Francis,

Lord,

Make me an instrument of your peace.

And,

God knows,

There has never been in our lifetimes such a need for the promotion of peace in our troubled world.

But sometimes the situation in which we find ourselves challenges us to critically examine the status quo.

We need to raise a few ripples in order to relieve the suffering of other people.

I've come across a prayer,

A reverse form of that well-known prayer.

I find it mentioned in numerous places across the internet and it is said to be by an author unknown.

Many of us are lucky enough to enjoy reasonably trouble-free lives.

I think you'll agree that this prayer helps to shake us lucky ones out of the comfort zone of complacency.

Lord,

Make me a channel of disturbance.

Where there is apathy,

Let me provoke.

Where there is compliance,

Let me bring questioning.

Where there is silence,

May I be a voice.

Where there is too much comfort and too little action,

Grant disruption.

Where there are doors closed and hearts locked,

Grant the willingness to listen.

Where laws dictate and pain is overlooked,

When tradition speaks louder than need,

Grant that I may seek rather to do justice than to talk about it.

Disturb us,

O Lord,

To be with as well as for the alienated.

To love the unlovable as well as the lovely.

Lord,

Make me a channel of disturbance.

Namaste.