Prayer

It's super late and I'm super tired but i also wanted to get this down before i went to sleep....It was a dark and stormy night....o.k. sorry, had to do it.  It was dark and it was stormy and yes, it was night but on my two hour drive home my brain was churning with all the thoughts from the evenings activity of listening to one of my favourite authors speak.

I've heard Anne Lamott before at the Book Passage in San Rafael something like 15 years ago so I was much overdue for another visit.  Why is she one of my favorite authors?  In my humble opinion, she writes in a style that for me flows beautifully.  She has a healthy balance of humor and topics that are very real and she's local therefore the towns she sets her books in are local and it's really easy for me to follow as to where the characters are physically in the stories.

Tonight's reading was based off of her latest book: Help, Thanks, Wow.  A short book (100 pages or so) on prayer.  Now, I don't belong to any religious organizations but from what I've read of the book (only have read up to the 2nd chapter) It's not really about religion persay but the notion that there is a hodgepodge of pain and suffering in this world and we, as humans, all need a little compassion towards one another. Someone crying for help is just looking for a little compassion and just knowing that there is another soul willing to slog through the crap even if it's just as a sounding board or shoulder to rest upon while one gets their balance prayer does not discriminate.  There is no right or wrong way to pray nor are there any hidden agendas.  For example, I prayed that I would get home without hydroplaning my car on the freeway...

She also mused about random observations like:

-When you are faced with those monkey mind jiva like thoughts of "my butt looks fat" or "I'm not good enough" or "that group of people are saying not so nice things about me" stop and ask yourself "Do I really have the time for this thought"?  For the most part the answer is most often "NO".  Asking yourself this question is not out of ego but more about what is important to you and what is real. 

-One woman asked "I'm a writer and a Christian how do i get people to not put a label on me?" In this humble Pallav's opinion, this person just labeled herself to an auditorium full of people and my first thought was "Well, don't tell people that!, duh!"  Being a writer has no bearing on what your personal religion is unless you are writing for the Christian community it shouldn't matter what your religion is.

-She brought up some highlights that I've been working on for myself..things like being present, finding something that grounds you (like lighting a lamp-yes, she said that), find what resonates with you and keep it near and dear.  These are all things I've been learning in my classes and things I've been gracefully reminded that I need to be more aware of in order for me to find absolute peace with myself.


Oh, and finally, got my copy of the book autographed.....tee hee