Into the Vicinity of Eternity

Morning Thoughts #243

Not prayer for action, but prayer with action. Prayer that enables action, but not prayer that waits for inspiration to act. Prayer that asks for the empowerment of the self-starting mechanism. Can I say prayer that meets you halfway? Not even that, but rather such a belief in prayer that you will take the necessary risks, almost answering it yourself. But also not answering it yourself at all—delegating your anxiety, dealing only with profound faith. A managerial role, and yet remaining the subordinate. The most subordinate, courageously so—directly reporting to your destined fate.

This is not waiting for assistance but going ahead with full force, knowing that assistance will be with you as needed. That it will be there with you all along—a sacred nearness so familiar that you can sit in silence together for hours, days, years, and yet still be sure of the presence—feeling no impulse toward empty banter, no need for reassurance of camaraderie or companionship. And when the silence is finally broken, what power a few words, an honest entreaty, may hold.

This is a call to reject the recent (de)evolution of the function of religion. Once, profound belief gave strength to take great risks; now, it mostly calls the world together in timidity and prods it to behave even better. And by doing this too well, it ends up putting the religious impulse itself on the defensive, all while weakening the spirit and muscles (perhaps these especially so!) of any potential warriors left willing to defend it.

The confiners have taken hold of the power of prayer, turning it into a leash to restrain their flock. The free know it as something else entirely—something that emboldens their already free spirit to an even greater degree. With honest faith, one doesn't just live—one conquers life and then maintains this conquered territory as part of an expanding empire of self-conception. And for a time, you can feel your time is on the rise. Your prayers are giving you direction. At the very least, you track them as best you can once they’ve been released to tell better which way is up. In the vicinity of eternity, your purpose is gaining signal.