Years ago when my son was 5, we started a practice of saying prayers of gratitude prior to eating dinner. When it was his turn, he said, "Thank you, God, for me, my Mom and my Dad." Emphatically stating gratitude for his life first was immediately impactful. I felt elated for him to embody and be sustained by this. And, in wonderment, I was struck with the fundamental question, "What does that really feel like - to be happy and grateful for one's life?"

As I experienced significant distressing and disturbing events in early childhood through adolescence, this sense of the value of my life and the preciousness of the human experience was indeed elusive. My son's prayer turned out to be a turning point and cornerstone for deeper inquiry, and I shall be forever grateful to him for his teaching and prompting.

BTW, this was the only prayer my son kept repeating at dinnertime until his father taught him the Lord's Prayer. Thereafter, he recited that as his prayer. Although important to know this, I honestly felt disappointed and unhappy over the replacement, as it wasn't from his heart; rather, from, albeit, impressive memorization. It was way too long to repeat when we were hungry and just wanted to eat. As time went on, his Lord's Prayer recital at the dinner table elicited laughter as, unquestionably, there was a hilarious component to the length.