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I was at a meeting recently where someone shared their experience, strength and hope, and she talked a lot about her meandering journey to find a higher power. I certainly identify with that sentiment. And she said she ended up not really completely figuring it out, but she did realize that prayer is a powerful tool for her to use as she tries to find a God that works for her.
And she said she says the same prayer every morning, and that it has consistently been a game changer for her. She said she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and says, “Where to next, boss?”
That’s it. That’s the prayer.
I love that prayer. It’s four words, but it has so many layers to it.
First of all, it’s a question. It’s not asking for anything. It’s not presuming the list of things that you need to happen that day. It’s a question, which forces you to be open-minded.
Secondly, it asks where, which I love. That indicates to me an acceptance that you don’t know where this journey is going to go, that you’re open to wherever the world takes you. The more I think about every day as an open road, rather than something I will seize and drive wherever I want regardless of whether that is the right place for me to go, the better off I am.
Third, I think setting it up using the word “boss” is pretty valuable. I kind of don’t consider my higher power to be my boss, per se. But I do consider my higher power to be a mysterious combination of things that is bigger than me. So even though I wouldn’t say my conception of a higher power is my boss, it’s also not not my boss, if you know what I mean. I need to think of my higher power, which I would best describe as the universe as a whole, as something that I defer to. So even though that word isn’t the perfect description, I do find the idea of being ready to take orders from the universe and go with the flow to be the best way for me to start a day.
Last but not least, I think the word “next” is valuable. To me, that means that I am looking forward to today, and only today. I am not living in the wreckage of my past or my future. I am ready for today. I am embracing the idea of one day at a time. I am present.
So I am going to start saying that every morning—Where to next, boss?—and we’ll see where it takes me.
This newsletter is a place of joy and laughter about the deadly serious business of sobriety. So, as I will often do, let me close with a joke:
HEARD AT MEETINGS
Topic at meeting: "You don't get to be a pilot by going to JFK and watching the planes take off."
(Credit: Grapevine, May 2009, by Taren S. of New York)
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