We have a mantra in our family—“please don’t shout orders”. I catch myself speaking demands daily “Pick up your shoes”, “Don’t put my jeans in the dryer”, “Go outside Ginger” (our pup). I also find myself assuming things about people without knowing their stories. I form an opinion without even considering it may not be true. We move about so quickly in our lives, never really considering what others are experiencing or burdened with. What if instead of starting with a judgement, we first offered kindness?
During worship this Lent we are learning the Prayer of Loving Kindness, it is also known as the Metta Prayer from the Buddhist tradition. Metta refers to an unconditional, inclusive, and wise love that exists without expectations of anything in return. The prayer’s purpose is to pray for someone’s wellbeing before we jump to assumptions, demands, or opinions. We start first by offering kindness to ourselves to turn down the voice of criticism —may I be filled with loving kindness, may I be well, may I be whole. We then think of someone we know, maybe a co-worker, a friend, someone at school, we pray that they be filled with loving kindness, wellness, and wholeness. We then move to someone we don’t know, the ruler of a nation, the person in the car behind you in the drop-off line, the construction worker you zoom by. Even without knowing someone, we pray for their welfare that they be filled with loving kindness. And finally, we turn to the whole community, all people. May the world be filled with wholeness and loving kindness.
Since we have started learning this prayer in worship, I find myself humming it throughout the day, and although I still catch myself shouting orders and making opinions, I am also learning to pause, to honor the people sharing this life with me, to let the Spirit of loving kindness lead the way.
What have you noticed as you learn the loving kindness prayer?
Pastor Beth Horsch