The Hardest Part is People

(Picture from LauraJackson.com)



The hardest part is people.
So Lord, help me face them without rancor or disappointment,
help me see the pain behind their actions rather than the malice;
the suffering rather than the rage.

And in myself, as I struggle with the vice of my own desire—
give me strength to quiet my heart, to quicken
my empathy, to act in gratitude rather than need.

Remind me that the peace I find in the slow track of seasons
or an uncurling fern frond, is married to the despair I feel
in the face of nuclear war, remind me that each small bird
shares atoms with anthrax, with tetanus, with acid rain,
that each time I close my heart to another I add to the darkness;
help me always follow kindness.

Let this be my prayer.
-----Karen Holden