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| Big Trees Park-North Grove |
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| Big Trees Park-Stanislaus River |
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| Lake Hogan-Fiddleneck Boat Launch |
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| Lake Hogan-Inspiration Point/Old Dam |
In the past, when I have heard people say that they are blessed, I have always been a little reluctant to embrace both the term and the sentiment. To me, that word implies that the person has something that someone else doesn't have. Or that they somehow were given more than the next person. Then there is the quandary of who gave them that extra bit in the first place? So, it's a limited and childish view I know but I offer it up as food for thought.
Today I did two things worth mentioning. I visited my friend in San Andreas whose house burned down in the fire. In telling her that I didn't know what to say or do, she said that she had our friendship. That was a blessing to me.
The second thing was that I went to Big Trees State Park for my walk. I love the drive to the park. It takes me through such diverse countryside all in the space of about an hour. It occurred to me as I was driving home that I was blessed to live in such a place as this, Calaveras County, where I could see so much with just a short drive. These views and experiences in my landscape are a blessing to me.
If those things are blessings, which I believe they are, then how do I square that with the experiences of others who maybe don't have the same things or opportunities? I came to the conclusion that it wasn't what you had or what you did that was the blessing. It is the awareness of those things and not the things themselves per se. It just can't be about material objects or monetary advantage or good health or whatever. It has to be about an awareness of what is making you happy-what is there in the everyday even if it doesn't seem like much.
I am including two links below. Take a minute to read and listen. Sissel, a Norwegian soprano, sings like an angel. Her voice has been described as having a "crystalline" quality and that is an apt image of what she sounds like singing this song below. Read the lyrics too which at first seem hard but can actually be seen as positive, perhaps even a blessing.
link-lyrics: Vitae Lux (Light of Life)-Sissel
link-Video-Sissel singing Vitae Lux (well worth it!)
Absolutely I am blessed! And yes, it does have to do with being aware of what is given us. Not just the material things, for they are fleeting and truly mean little in the grand picture. But the joy, even in the face of grave and difficult times, that we may find in our relationships with family,friends and whatever faith one has.. To find that can be hard but once done it is a true blessing.
ReplyDeleteKaren,
DeleteI really do think you are right. It bothers me a lot to think of some people as being blessed and other somehow who are not. I also can't overlook the fact that many, many people don't have enough of even the basics: food, shelter, water and freedom. It's hard for me to think too about being grateful no matter what the circumstances are. But, I am trying to think more expansively these days about this definition of "blessing" and as you wrote, when you can find that joy even in the face of adversity, that itself is the blessing.
Always happy to hear from you. Hope you are doing well!
Libby