08/10/2025
Sounds like Good Advice to me
“You don’t stand a chance against my prayers. You don’t stand a chance against my love.”
Last night, my husband David returned from a camping trip in Colorado. His drive home took him through four states. Before he left Colorado for his drive back home, I cautioned him,
“Honey, enjoy the journey. Enjoy the mountains of Colorado, the vastness of Wyoming, the forests of Utah, and the deserts of Nevada, but do not listen to the news. Focus on what’s beautiful.”
“Good idea! Yup, no news. Got it,” he replied.
When he stumbled in last night, he said, “Do you remember how you cautioned me to not listen to the news?”
“Yes?”
“Well, I should have listened to you! It was a great trip home . . . until I turned on the news. As I listened, I got angry and upset about everything that’s happening in our country. Even after I turned off the radio, instead of focusing on the amazing countryside I was driving through, I just felt helpless. I should have listened to you.”
I knew the feeling that he described. I long for peace and harmony in the world we live in, but sometimes, when I listen to the news, it feels like everything is spiraling out of control.
I don’t want to put blinders on to what’s happening in the world. But I also know that my angst doesn’t make things better. So I’ve come up with a strategy for myself, for those times when it seems that life is falling apart.
My strategy comes from the lines in a song called ‘The Ghost Dance’ written in the early '90s by Robbie Robertson. The song expresses resilience and the enduring power of prayer.
“You don’t stand a chance against my prayers. You don’t stand a chance against my love.”
When feelings of overwhelm, anger, or helplessness surge over me, I take a deep breath and repeat these words to myself. And everything changes. A calm fills me.
I believe in the power of prayer and I believe in the power of love, so rather than allowing my angst to fuel more angst in the world, I shift my focus to prayers and love. These are two of the most powerful forces in the Universe... and I believe that all our prayers and our love make a difference to our beautiful and needful planet.
May you have a splendid weekend!
