Andrew W.K. does it again. Sublime.

One reader of Andrew W.K.s Village Voice advice column wrote in frustrated about
being asked to pray for an older brother diagnosed with cancer, describing it as
kneeling on the ground and mumbling superstitious nonsense. (hehe) W.K. responded
:
Prayer is a type of thought. Its a lot like meditation a type of very concentrate
d mental focus with passionate emotion directed towards a concept or situation,
or the lack thereof. But theres a special X-factor ingredient that makes prayer dif
ferent than meditation or other types of thought. That X-factor is humility. Thi
s is the most seemingly contradictory aspect of prayer and what many people disl
ike about the feeling of praying. Getting down on your knees is not about lowering
your power or being a weakling, its about showing respect for the size and grand
eur of what we call existence its about being humble in the presence of the vastn
ess of life, space, and sensation, and acknowledging our extremely limited under
standing of what it all really means.
Being humble is very hard for many people because it makes them feel unimportant
and helpless. To embrace our own smallness is not to say were dumb or that we do
nt matter, but to realize how amazing it is that we exist at all in the midst of
so much more. To be fully alive, we must realize how much else there is besides
ourselves. We must accept how much we dont know and how much we still have to lea
rn about ourselves and the whole world. Kneeling down and fully comprehending th
e incomprehensible is the physical act of displaying our respect for everything
that isnt us.
The paradoxical nature of this concept is difficult, but it is the key to unlock
ing the door of spirituality in general, and it remains the single biggest reaso
n many people dont like the idea of prayer or of spiritual pursuits in general th
ey feel its taking away their own power and it requires a dismantling of the reli
able day-to-day life of the material world. In fact, its only by taking away the
illusion of our own power and replacing it with a greater power the power that c
omes from realizing that we dont have to know everything that we truly realize ou
r full potential. And this type of power doesnt require constant and exhausting e
fforts to hold-up and maintain, nor does it require us to endlessly convince our
selves and everyone else that were powerful, that we know what were doing, and tha
t were in control of everything.
(Hat tip AndrewSullivan.com)
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2014/09/ask_andrew_wk_on_prayer.php