Why worship Gods?

And now for the text version, which might be better here — WordPress degraded the image quality of the infographic.

Why Worship Gods?

Platonists are fond of saying that the world is full of Gods, quoting from a pre-Socratic philosopher named Thales. Platonists like Proclus add that everything prays, each in its own way, just by nature of being what it is — like a sunflower following the sun. So, if every life form in the universe is already praying, why do anything extra?

1. Souls on a Journey.
   Each of us is a rational soul — not in the sense of Vulcans on Star Trek, though, as “rational” here is a jargon term describing having conscious, deliberative awareness. In Platonism, we are at the “lower” extremity of divinity, and part of how we express what we are is by incarnating in cycles.

2. … Drawn Down Here
   We spend part of our incarnation cycles in close contact with the Gods, and part down here — we are each lured by the material world in a unique way based on our nature, as each of us is a soul in the “series” of a specific God, and we each inherent intrinsic attributes from them.
   
3. The Power of Awareness
   Each of us could, in any incarnation, choose to wing it and go with the flow. Prayer, however, keeps our awareness anchored in our close, foundational contact with divinity. Physical tools we might use in prayer — statues, incense, chants, &c. — support cultivating awareness/connection when used wisely.
   
4. … Especially During Tumult
   This is true regardless of how large and numerous the challenges we face are. Prayer, and the spiritual impact of connecting with Gods, keeps us rooted. Prayer builds our resilience and invites us us contextualize this specific life — both the good and the rough times. It keeps us in contact with virtue and a growth mindset.
   
5. Above All, Gratitude
   Each God flows from their summit with abundance. The world is an astonishingly beautiful and devastating place — the exciting rapids at the end of that flow. From our small planet in the vastness of space, we get to experience so much. The more mindfully we engage, the more we can adapt to the flow and bring forth good things of our own.