Prayer of the Selfish Adult

Prayer of the Selfish Child

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
And if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my toys to break,
So none of the other kids can use ’em…
Amen.

~ Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic, ©1981

I’m late to the Shel Silverstein party. I’d heard of him and his poems for many, many years, and never read them. Last week, I was giving a Empowering Language workshop and two women in the group recommended I pick up his books; several of his poems applied to our discussion of the “what if” and “should” statements that hold us back.

This has become one of my favorite recommendations of all time!

I’ve had the books for less than 24 hours, and I’m completely in love. The poem above has grabbed me and won’t let go. See, there was a time when I was a selfish child. If I’m honest, there have been moments when I’ve been a selfish adult.

I experience this selfishness….

if I harbor even a smidgen of “If I lose, you lose” thinking.

if I feel even a glimmer of hope that someone else doesn’t get the job, the promotion, the new client… because if they win, I lose in some way.

if I think, even for a second, that if I leave this job, I hope the place falls apart without me.

if someone else receiving kudos or praise causes me to wonder “what about me?!”

We’re only human if we admit that all of us have had one or more of these experiences, whether we’re 5, 25 or 55. And what separates the adults from the children is our ability to admit to having the thought, see it as fear-based, release it and move through to a place of generosity.

From a place of generosity, we see that there is more than enough. There is more than enough time, money and space (oh, and toys!) for everyone.

If we have a generosity mindset, we know that it’s not the one who dies with the most toys who wins… it’s the one who dies with nothing. The toys have all been used up, given away, spent or shared.

And finally, living with a generous heart means we take care of our toys so that we can pass them around and share them, whole and working, to others. We want better things for those who are journeying with us and after us. Their success is our success, because we are interconnected.

Prayer of the Generous Child

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
And if I die before I wake,
I want my toys to allocate,
So every man, woman and child can use ’em…
Amen.
(~ me)