AN ANCIENT PRAYER
GIVE ME a good digestion, Lord, and also something to digest;
Give me a healthy body, Lord, and sense to keep it at its
best.
Give me a healthy mind, good Lord, to keep the good and pure
in sight,
Which, seeing sin, is not appalled, but finds a way to set it
right.
Give me a mind that is not bound, that does not whimper, whine
or sigh.
Don’t let me worry overmuch about the fussy thing called I.
Give me a sense of humour, Lord; give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some happiness from life and pass it on to other folk.
This short
prayer is written by the British poet Thomas Henry Basil Webb (28 July 1866 –
29 October 1940) . It is included among the best loved poems. The word ‘Ancient’
in the title does not mean primeval or pre-historic. It also does not mean
archaic or obsolete. It may be
interpreted as very old, the one which has been addressed to God for several centuries,
but it should not be interpreted as the one which has become outmoded.
The entreaties, petitions and requests which have been made in the poem are everlasting as far as their contribution
to human happiness is concerned.
What is the
poet praying for which the modern man
would not like to have? His list includes : digestion with something to digest; a healthy
body with the ability to maintain it at its best; a healthy mind that sees only
good and natural things; the ability to
see sin not only by remaining unappalled but also by having the power to set it
right; and along with all this the good
luck of having a mind which does not
whimper or whine.
He wants an ego
which is not fussy. He does not want to worry overmuch about it.
And finally,
he wants a sense of humour; the decency to
treat a joke as a joke not as an
irritant.
If this
prayer is granted, he will get some happiness from life which he will pass on other folks.
To conclude, shall we call this prayer ‘Ancient”
? No, not at all. It is as modern as any
prayer can be with entreaties for a healthy body, healthy mind and peaceful life.
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13th May 2022 G.R.Kanwal
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