There was a time in my life when I volunteered a lot more than I do now.

I fundraised.

I sat on various committees.

I joined voluntary work crews.

These days, my voluntary work is more remote, less hands-on.

One of the things I do is moderate.

I’m one of a three-member team volunteering on the prayer site for the Jesuit website Sacred Space.

We don’t decide what prayers to publish, rather, we publish those prayers that haven’t been made private.

The prayers, submitted from all over the world, offer a unique insight into what’s going on outside my little realm. They reflect people’s problems, worries, and concerns.

(Grand)parents praying for their kids.

Kids praying for their (grand)parents.

Spouses praying for their partners.

Siblings praying for their brothers or sisters.

People praying for world peace, fair elections, a better environment, more tolerance, more love, less hatred.

People praying to be delivered from past or present traumas.

People praying for a better world, a better life, a better job. Or any job.

There was a time in my life, too, when I’d rubbish my problems, because when placed alongside someone else’s, they weren’t big enough to dot an i.

Or, worse still, others rubbished them for me.

In comparing apples and oranges, so much got buried, left to rot and fester, untreated. I suspect this is all too common – this blanket denial of feeling.

I’ve written before about toxic positivity.

I’ve heard the term, gaslighting, too, but never really understood it. Until I saw this post from @growthvibes:

I’ve been guilty of gaslighting myself. Unwittingly, I know. But guilty nevertheless.

My prayer is twofold: to become more conscious of the words I choose and to own what I feel without comparison.

Grateful for the reminder.

For more on Grateful 52, read what started it all back in 2012.