I never bowed my head. I never repeated the words. I looked straight ahead, eyes open. I despised the idea of begging to some imaginary celestial being. All around the backs of necks, bent, eyes squeezed shut. I looked ahead. Funnily enough, I was never reprimanded for it, as far as I can recall. Not in this life, at least. 

I will always thank my father for that. A good rule for life: never bow to an unquestionable authority, particularly one invented by human beings.