May you be at peace...

Blessings

“...the world needs you to do this, because there is a real shortage of people willing to kneel wherever they are and recognize the holiness holding its...life-giving hand above their heads. That we are able to bless one another at all is evidence that we have been blessed, whether we can remember when or not. That we are willing to bless one another is miracle enough to stagger the very stars.”

                            Barbara Brown Taylor (An Altar in the World)

We Southerners are famous for saying, “Well, bless your heart.” Usually that is anything but a blessing. Most often it translates to, “You, sir, are an idiot.” Or, “What in the world were you thinking!” Or, “How could you possibly be so stupid?” It's impolite to say such things, so 'bless your heart' is said in its place, because, Lord knows, we don't want to be impolite. We're NICE people...

But, what if we were to actually get into the practice blessing people on a regular basis. Not necessarily out loud, because that would be 'awkward', but in the quiet of our hearts. What if we were to have a running benediction in our heads that was a simple blessing. Whenever we met someone, or thought about someone, what if we were to silently say, “God, bless (name) today. Hold him in your hand.” or “I ask for blessings for (name) today. Give her your light.”

Back in my head-strong days, when I had a lot of angst, and some would say anger, I instituted a practice of saying the 'Prayer of the Buddha' for people who really got on my nerves—which was pretty much everybody. This is what it says:

            “May (name) be at peace; may her heart remain open;

             may she awaken to the light of her own true nature.

             May she be healed; may she be a source of healing for all beings.”

When I went walking, for instance, I would bring up the names of every person I knew, and say the prayer for them—like a mantra, to the beat of my steps. What I found was that in blessing others—especially people who irked me—my attitude toward them changed. There is something about praying for another person that makes them belong to you. Even if you don't know them, or don't like them, they become yours if they are in your prayers. It conveys kinship. Perhaps it helps us to recognize that they are not that different from us.

In our world today, with all its rage and violence, we can become an oasis of calm. We can be conduits of grace. The world desperately needs people who are willing to bless and not curse.

                                                   In the spirit,

                                                   Jane