Prayer to me is about being deeply connected and conscious about my life. Using my definition hopefully most of our life is spent in prayer.

I do not pray simply because I lack something. I do not pray only because I am in fear. I pray to recognize the absolute miracle that I am living and not just me but billions of other examples of life are here supporting me also.

When my mom died in 1996 I remember sitting around the kitchen table at our family home. The conversation turned to miracles and I was surprised to learn neither of my brothers believed in miracles. I can remember the moment as clearly as if it were yesterday (and of course in the space time continuum it could be that recent…smile).

To me life is a miracle. The fact the universe has life within it is a miracle. Whether or not we are alone does not lessen the miracle to me any more than 6 billion humans is no more or less miraculous than 6, they are just different numbers. If life, or the building blocks of life, is discovered on another planet I will think how marvelous, we have even more proof of how deeply we are connected to the universe. It will be something to celebrate and nothing to fear.

And it is not just human life that I speak of. I am thrilled at life itself. I have a great story to tell you of my most recent intimate relationship with life. I received a bouquet of flowers last April and within it was a plant that I think of as a tea plant. When I was a child I watched my mother take a bit of stem and grow a plant that bascially lasted her whole life. I thought to try and do the same.

I took this piece of plant (really 1 leaf) and I put it in water. I used a needle to push holes in the bottom. I would diligently clean the water which relentlessly became murky. The bottom of the plant would be slimy and so I would clean it. I thought to put sugar in so there was something for the plant to eat. It took 12 weeks, but finally I got some root beginning to form. I was so excited. I nurtured and cleaned and talked to the living organism. When finally I could see the growth of one small leaf beginning I decided to plant it in soil. That was last summer.

This is the first time in my life that I have nurtured back life. I am now looking at this plant with eight leaves thriving in my living space. Did I pray for it? You bet I did. But not in the “I want something to happen the way I want” sense. I celebrated and enjoyed the cycle of life as I became an enthusiastic supporter of life expressing and expanding. I merely applied the same principles to the plant that I apply to my life, all the time.