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Twice Blessed


Sometimes in the evening when I sit down to write another one of these inspirational reflections, I wonder, does anyone “out there” read these things?  Fortunately I do not know how many people read them, although I know some do.  I also know that this has become an important part of my own spiritual discipline.  Of course, there are some days when I really don’t want to do a reflection, but I know right now it is a good discipline for my soul. 
           
For one thing since I write every night, it means I need a modicum of awareness as I go through my day in order to “catch” something in life, which is worthy of spiritual reflection.  When I catch such a moment, then it is important to pay attention.  I realize how easy it is to go through the motions of living.  Even though I interact a great deal with people, it is still too easy to give rote answers and not really engage and exchange in real and authentic ways.  However I might define spirituality, I would insist it has to be real and authentic. 
           
The funny thing for me to recognize is once I write one of these and send it on to appear the next day in cyber world, I tend to not think of it again.  That does not mean I don’t try to take my own insights seriously, but I don’t need to go back to re-read what I wrote.  Instead I try to incarnate it into my living the next day.  So in that sense, I become unaware and inattentive!
           
The evening before I had written about blessing.  I did not re-read it, but generally I knew what I had said.  But yesterday when the message actually appeared in cyber world, I had put it in the back of my mind.  About mid-morning I walked across campus to get a cup of coffee.  A woman came up behind me and whispered, “God bless you.”  “Thank you,” I responded.  The she reiterated her blessing and smiled broadly.  Then it hit me: she had read my piece and also was incarnating the message.
           
She was using the verb with me.  “Bless you,” was the verbal gift.  I became the noun---the blessing.  And we were both blessed.  In fact, I was twice blessed!  I was delighted and humbled in the same moment.  It felt like my gift had been given back to me with interest.  If she had handed me a $20 bill, I could not have been happier!
           
To my delight she was the first of a small number of people who brought blessing into my life in some fashion.  Repeatedly I was twice blessed.  I felt a bit sheepish that I had written something and proceeded to go on with my life without much attention to what I had thrown out there.  Like a good boomerang, blessing was coming back my way.  Unlike the boomerang, the blessings came back to land in my heart.
           
It occurred to me that I had been triangulated---in a very good way.  The blessor (her) had become blessed (me) and we both momentarily inhabited a bubble of blessing (community).  As I wandered through the day, other people joined the bubble of blessing.  Blessing is always a good thing.  Twice blessed is an amazingly good thing!
           
The whole process provoked another reflective look at blessing.  Why would I have not thought about being twice blessed?  It seems so obvious to me now.  Simply to bless someone does not mean the event occurs and is finished.  Why would I not assume, rather, that blessing is more like a rock thrown into a pool.  Inevitably there will be ripple effects.  Like the rock tossed into the pool, so with blessing you can see where it “lands.”  If I bless you, then it lands on you.  But why would I assume that’s that?
           
It makes more sense to assume that if I bless you, it will ripple on out to other people and other situations.  That’s what happened to me yesterday when I was included in the ripple effect.  The blessing I had extended rippled back to bless me.  I find that hilarious!
           
This makes me more eager to find ways and opportunities to bless people and to be a blessing in the situations I find myself.  Why would I not opt for that instead of cursing people and being a curse in my situations!  We all know people like that.  And if we are honest, we all know we have been those people on occasion.
           
I thank the wonderful woman who made my excursion to get coffee such a teachable moment.  Like so many gifts, I did not see this one coming.  I went for coffee and got blessed!  I looked for milk and got creamed with a blessing.  And as I write this, I realize I should be careful.
           
I should be careful that twice blessed is as far as it could possibly go.  Who can possibly know the extent or the boundaries of God’s blessing?  Why would I or you want to predict or limit the possibility or range of blessings?  Tomorrow I aim to throw another rock of blessing into the pool of humanity in which I find myself.  And I secretly hope there will be a ripple effect---a twice blessed ripple!
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