“I’m going to make sure that I don’t say anything that will upset someone else unnecessarily. I’m going to put a muzzle over my face like they do with wild dogs because I know that often my words are as ferocious as a bloodthirsty bite. And I will do this even in spite of the fact that those people who I’m with, well, I reckon they deserve it.” Well that’s what I said, before it all turned to custard.

So I was quiet, and reserved. I bit my tongue. But in the end it made no difference. I started to get annoyed. So annoyed. And I yelled at God.

“God, how long do I have to remain on this planet and listen to this stuff? Please let me know before I go mad!”

And then, in the middle of my complaint, the cosmic scale of things started to hit me!

“My lifetime is nothing in eternity. What’s eighty years when we talk about geology? What’s eighty years when scientists talk about the lifespan of the sun?

Everybody is just like a short and sharp breath.

And look at these people who are annoying me! Look at them, they are all upset and concerned, scurrying about protecting their little lives and for what? It’s like gathering leaves on a windy day!

So God, because you are so much bigger than these petty issues, what should I be waiting for in the midst of it? Yeah, I’m going to put things in perspective. My hope for peace is only in you.

Take the log out of my own eye and forgive me for the things I have done for my self over and above anyone else’s interests. Forgive me so that people cannot point the accusing finger at me to protect themselves.

I will remain silent. There’s nothing to say, because I am only human, just like them and I see you’ve proved that to me.

I can feel your firm rebuke on me, I’ve been worn down by your sharp clips around the ears of my arrogance.

And so you should. We deserve to be told off for being selfish. It’s your right to burn our consciences because after all we are so tiny compared to you. We are so insignificant and yet you care for us to be better.

Everyone is like a short and sharp breath.

Yeah, and why should you want to listen to me? I’m so small. Please hear me. Don’t keep your peace from me as I’m weeping. Let my tears instead be a sign of a desire to be close to you. After all, I am just someone passing through this corridor of life, a stranger to every new circumstance and experience, just like everyone else before me and everyone who will come after me.

And God, I think I understand my place in the cosmic order now, please smile at me again so that I can smile. Smile at me so I can smile in the same way at others so that my life when it is over is not wasted.