The sufi Bayazid said this about himself: I was a revolutionary when I was young, and all my prayer to God was, “Lord, give me the energy to change the world.”

As I approached middle age and realized that half my life was gone without my changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to “Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come in contact with me—just my family and friends—and I shall be satisfied.”

Now that I am an old man and my days are numbered, my one prayer is, “Lord, give me the grace to change myself.”

If I had prayed for this right from the start, I should not have wasted my life.

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