I had to go to work today, on MLK Day no less, and there was some petty foolishness going down at the office. I got so caught up in it that, in a call on my lunch break, I started yelling at a switchboard operator about why the doctor's office was closed before 5PM when I needed to make an appointment. She reminded me that it was a holiday, and I responded apologetically, saying I was stuck at work and stressed and could she please forgive my temper. She didn't.

When I got back to my desk, I found a "sip of living water" in my inbox. A writer friend of mine sends these weekly prayers, nondenominational, drawing from Rumi, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Gospels and Vedas, or her own verse when the spirit moves her. I can't tell you how much I look forward to this water for my mind every week, especially when I get bogged down in the physical realm -- caught up in my job, the things I have or don't have.

It's so easy to lose sight of the agape that MLK spoke about, the universal love that envelops and nurtures us all the time. Every day is a struggle to grow in that love and peace and resist the temptation toward inner spiritual violence. I apologize again for displacing my frustration on this woman. Tomorrow, by grace, I will be better.

This is a prayer for Haiti, but also for any and everyone, myself included, who needs a gentle reminder.

Senye, ede nou pa atache ak batanklan.
Nou ka gen kat wob jodi a,
men petet l’a gen yon jou
ke nou pa gen ditou.
Ede n’ atache nou a pawol Bondye.

Lord, help us not to connect ourselves to things.
We may have four dresses today,
but maybe there will be a time
when we won’t have any.
[Instead] help us to connect ourselves
to God’s [unchanging] Word.

- Haitian Kreyol Prayer