Dolphins were sporting in the water this afternoon as I walked alone on the beach.  I saw a woman staring at the sand.  “Did you see the dolphins?”  I asked, excitedly.  “ Shhh,”  she replied, “ I’m praying and meditating.”  I left chastened, but then I began to question.  Does prayer exclude others or is it a way of talking to God about others?  Should we meditate and ignore others or meditate about how we treat God and others?  Do I make my own prayer time so private that I forget what I’m told to pray for—not only myself, but also a wounded world around me?  Forgive me, Father, when I act as if your creations are interruptions to my prayer, and not the subject of my prayers. Amen.