The many ways I pray

Not all prayers are said with folded hands.

Some are whispered in silence, some are cried into pillows, some are felt as a deep ache in the chest.

And some - never spoken at all - just rise quietly from heart, hoping the universe understands.

Over the years my idea of prayers have changed. As a child, I thought prayer means, asking for good and high marks. Slowly it became the prayers for good things to happen. Prayers to keep the people I loved safe. 

I used to recite them with perfect words, at the perfect time, as if they were instructions in a text book. 

But life taught me otherwise. 

Now I pray when I wash my dishes or when I do other house hold chores in silence. 

I pray when I watch my child sleep peacefully.

I pray not just to ask - but to thank, to surrender, to breathe.

Some prayers are for strength. 

Some are for clarity.

Some are just a quiet "please" when the road feels too uncertain.

And sometimes.... prayers go unanswered - or so it seems.

But in time,I have learned that unanswered prayers are not rejections.

But they are redirections.

They are protections in disguise.

Because what I prayed for desperately - I now thank the universe for not giving me.

Prayer is not a transaction - no it def is not.

Its a connection.

Between the known and unknown. Between me and something larger, wiser, and more powerful and more patient, I can ever be.

It is the language of hope when words run out.

It is the hand I reach for when I feel alone. 

It is the invisible thread that holds me on days when I feel like I am falling apart.

And the beauty of prayer?

You don't need the right words.

You don't need to be perfect.

You just need to show up - heart open, soul honest.

Because someone, somewhere, always hears.

Even if thar someone... is just a quieter version of you.