Everything I Do Matters

In our latest podcast, Tony and I talked about choosing meditation for our March Pilgrim Lost theme. We also shared some of the ways we are entering into the practice. I referenced the book I have been using - Prayer: Forty Days of Practice by artist Scott Erickson and writer Justin McRoberts. 

The image above is Scott’s visual for the following prayer:

May I have the courage to believe that everything I do matters.

This prayer; this mediation- is what I am ‘resting on’ for the week. I want to believe this is true. 

Do I? 

Not really. 

Is the way I make a cup of tea as important as the art I post on Instagram? One thing is done in complete anonymity and the other is displayed for all my ‘followers’ to see and comment on.

In this oh-so-visible dopamine-hit world we have been conditioned to believe that how we display our lives, our interests, our successes are what defines us. I wrote previously about trying to live in a world of abundance versus scarcity. 

When we start to believe the above phrase - that everything we do REALLY matters, it changes everything. It speaks to presence; to our ability to be present to each part of the day. Can we find abundance in each moment? Can we be alert to the beauty and meaning in each task, no matter how simple or rote?

Being present to each part of my day, no matter how big or small, is exquisitely HARD. We have been trained to race through the minutiae to get to what is visible; what is applaudable; what we can put on our resume to give us worth.

Because for me, that’s what it comes down to. 

Worth. 

How do I define my worth? I can so easily swirl into the vortex where the work I make is the only thing that speaks to my worth. 

So I turn to another prayer in the book.

May my good works be a fruit of my life rather than justification of it. 

The simplicity of these prayers belies the amount of time I will need to really let these truths seep into me.

I think I’ll start by making a cup of tea.