Daily Blessings

I post these with a hat tip to Br. David Steindl-Rast , The Network For Grateful Living , and his book 99 Blessings: An Invitation to Life. A few weeks ago I began to read Br. Steindl-Rast’s book each morning and I started writing my own daily blessing. The Network For Grateful Living also offered an eight day series of blessings based on the book, which was a wonderful introduction to this kind of practice. I have been writing in a gratitude journal for years now, but I love this particular format.

The practice of writing a daily blessing is a blessing in itself, and it helps to put front and center that which I often take for granted. This is one of those lifetime practices that can only enrich lives over days, months, and years. I am SO grateful to Br. Steindl-Rast and all those who are studying and encouraging us to live with grateful spirits.

Some people feel awkward using or hearing the word "blessing", but I don't and I hope you don't mind here. I feel - whether one considers them circumstance or divinely given - that we all, I certainly, am fortunate to receive "unearned gifts" every day. These unearned gifts , like air to breathe or mountains to hike or stars to amaze me are all around me. Of course, there are also other gifts in my life that I have contributed to, like being smart enough to marry someone wonderful, being part of a loving family, developing deep friendships, finding work I love, and much more.

All are gifts. Call them blessings, gifts, things to be thankful for - whatever. Here are just a few - of many - of mine.

Daily Blessings

You bless us with time

To heal, to mitigate

Our pain and grief and loss.

You bless us with

minutes, hours, days, years, decades

to recover

even though we never really do.

You bless us with scientific progress,

Modern medical miracles.

Machines and tests and procedures and knowledge

And training.

What used to bring death,

Does no more.

You bless us with resilience

In the face of trouble and loss.

Evolutionarily embedded.

Divinely flourished.

Spiritually embraced,

Hugged.

You bless us with electricity

To light our lives and warm our morns

And cool our evenings.

You bless us with an outage

Here and there to remind us

Not to take this gift for granted.

You bless us with mechanics

Who know how to make things –

Cars, trucks, tractors, machines, power plants –

Work.

Blending brains and blisters you

Fix things, prevent breakdowns,

Make air conditioners and heaters hum.

You bless us with your skills and character.

You bless us with a sense of humor

That sees irony in our troubles and the smallness

Of our cares and helps us laugh

When our sadness

Becomes too much to bear.

You bless us with ears

To hear the birds singing this morning,

The sprinklers that just started next door

Even cars going to work two blocks over.

You bless us with recovery after misspent days.

After too much food,

Drink,

Laziness,

Sun.

We went fishing yesterday, Louie and I,

I came home baked.

Today is beautiful though,

And my head is clear.

You bless us with friends

And neighbors

With friendly spirits

And caring hearts.

You bless us with blood that coagulates,

Wounds that heal,

And open hearts.

You bless us with caring veterinarians

Who love animals

And have the expertise

To make them as healthy

And happy as possible.

You bless us with loss and suffering

Which reminds us that we love and care;

Which hurts, hurts, hurts,

But somehow we move through it.

Somehow we become closer to our

Depths, deepness,

As our vulnerability and illusions are revealed.

You bless us with a gift-economy

Found subtly all around

And counterpoint to a consumer economy.

You bless us with freedom

To think, dissent, move where we choose, to vote.

You bless us with volition

Freedom, independence, liberty.

You bless us with troubles,

Little ones like broken faucets,

To remind us of the importance

Of running water

And the expertise of others.

You bless us with trials

That make us question and fear,

So that we might remember

That health, generosity, and gratitude

Are the most important in our lives,

With faith, hope, and love

These three.

You bless us with friends

To learn from

And love from

And live up to and

Live down with.

You bless us with eyes to see

Squirrels playing

And sneaking birdseed.

Birds flapping, flitting, and feeding.

Grass growing.

You bless us with the ability to care

And to cry

For children, innocents,

Taken from parents and starving.

You bless us with clouds.

I saw a solitary cloud a day or two ago.

I wondered at it,

Not sure why this white puff

Touched me so.

You bless us with constant change,

Of seasons, days, winds, tasks in life.

In that change are what never changes

And that blesses us too.