Blessed

Someone said to me this morning, “Have a blessed day!” I replied back with “Thanks! You too!” Usually we’ll hear and say, “Have a good day!” or “Have a nice weekend!” or “Have a great evening!” but to have a ‘blessed’ day gives way to much more thoughtfulness on the recipient’s part.

Most people will relate the word ‘blessed’ to a person who’s been given a certain gift or talent or one who’s been touched by holiness, sanctified. I look at it as having been given the ultimate gift – life. And to be truly blessed, we need to show our gratitude for that gift. And I don’t mean by thanking our parents (wink, wink)! We need to realize that each of us here has this gift and it’s our responsibility to nurture it both in ourselves and in everyone else as well. Tell your loved ones you love them. Spend time with your friends. Goof off with your kids. Listen to your parents’ stories of yore. These fortunate times are the essence of the life we are blessed with. The mortgage is not life. The un-vacuumed house is not life. Don’t waste time being jealous of the neighbor’s new car or the co-worker’s promotion. The successes in life that matter most are not tangible.

Sometimes it can be difficult to free ourselves from the web of tangibles that make themselves seem so important. It feels like walking through an abandoned house full of cobwebs and dust. Your vision is clouded. But once you get through the doorway, out into the daylight, you see that those things don’t matter. Cars and houses can be replaced. Jobs can be attained anew. But the blessed bond you have with these other life forces remains constant while you are here. If you nurture that gift with gratitude and thoughtfulness and tolerance and understanding you are helping to create a connected utopia within this crazy, disconnected, stressed-out world we live in.

Have a truly blessed day!