Ok so here I am still at the pc, still thinking about your post.
Hours and hours of conversation could spring from this, your "only life hack."
Does Prayer Work?
Yes and no. by Phil Zuckerman, Ph.D., professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College:

....every now and then, someone’s prayers appear to have been answered. Such things happen frequently: a wife is told that her dying husband has a zero chance of recovery. Prayers are prayed. And then—voila—the husband suddenly recovers, astonishing the doctors who are left dumbstruck, unable to explain his recovery. It’s nothing short of a miracle.

While these things do happen, what is far and away more common is that the husband dies—a heap of fervent prayers notwithstanding. And also note that for every person who miraculously recovers, there’s another perfectly healthy person who suddenly, for no apparent reason, drops dead of some minor illness, or strange disease, or undetected aneurism, or stroke, or infection. Such is the precarious randomness of the human body and its functioning—people sometimes recover when all odds are against them, but more often than not, they don't.

Despite all of the evidence showing that prayers don’t work in the way they're intended, prayer is still what most humans do when there’s nothing left for them to do in dire, scary, or painful situations. And if it does provide them with even a modicum of comfort and hope during such times, so be it.

As @owasco can attest, I keep praying, and I call upon the community of saints to join me as I pray the walking Rosary in the wetlands, a pair of collies at my side. I call on her son Niko (a "being of light" no longer walking this earth), and on Bruni, aka @wonderwop, who left this world far too soon. I summon my grandparents and lost loved ones to walk with me (in spirit) as I pray for this God of Love to keep working in us, bringing us together - to the table, where all are welcome - come, come to the feast!