The Practicality of the Saint Francis Prayer

While the Serenity Prayer is a good way to start your day, because the prayer is about acceptance, and the lack of it is the root of all anger, worry, and depression. The Saint Francis Prayer has a very practical aspect. The source of “things that bother us”, are usually other beings. The Saint Francis Prayer is about being loving and open to all beings. This openness is a proactive thing. Proactive means, that this is something that we ‘do’, not just something that we simply tolerate, and put up with.

It is easier to be proactive about something. You can do this even when you are distracted with other things (such as your own wants and desires).

For example, most mornings, the security guard at the door of your work likes to pull you into a conversation. You dread this, and thinking about this unwelcome delay ,upsets your peace of mind as you drive into work. It is irritating to have that same boring conversation with the security guard in the morning (“don’t you realize that you are delaying me in getting to my office!”), unless you take the perspective that this is a human being who you can provide loving human attention to.

Now you don’t need to tolerate this person, you proactively and lovingly interact with the world.