Blessed

Today it is dark, the temperature fluctuated between the high 50's and 60's - no rain. Just a bit overcast by day's end. Today is Friday. It is the day after Thanksgiving and it's a gift to know you are blessed.

Over the past 24 hours, we have shared time with the earth, with elders (we are elders now, too). The women, 92 and 90, respectively - were happy to have us youngsters (69 and 71) share a little holiday meal with them. We enjoyed the traditional fare, with good humor and moderation (a good thing as we take on years, not to overdo the eating). Conversation ranged from what it was like to farm on the Big Island as a Japanese kid to what it was like to be a foreign student just after the Korean war. Both women were so entertaining to be with on this day.

Later, a friend who was solo came over and we decided to treat ourselves to some very spicy Szechuan Chinese food – the Chinese restaurants are the best on holidays! Switching gears from the relatively bland turkey and bread pudding lunch to the snappy delicacies that left the chili crisp zing on the tongue was uplifting. Yes, for some reason the numbness that follows chili crisp had the effect of lifting spirits! (And the beer helped).

The day had been spent creating a little movie about how struggle and abiding love for humanity can be a source of great inspiration, bringing a feeling of joy. Rolling through photos, remembering a recent trip to the southern border, hearing the voice of a person who simply cannot be shaken in his faith and love for the children who come into his sphere made me realize what a blessing really is. And of course, upon realizing - deep gratitude followed. Giving thanks for beings like this.

There used to be people who walked this earth who knew something about wisdom, Truth, cause and effect so deeply that their existence was filled with what people might call "magic". To meet such a person today, to witness the gift of being in service to something more than our material existence, and to be able to accept (and sometimes even laugh) about the things that collapse around you – that is true faith and courage.

To receive more, we must give out what we have received, and to fail in this would mean stagnation in the soul. There is something stagnant about keeping things and not understanding that to give is to open the energy for life to be meaningful beyond imagination. Those who recognize this are blessed.

The way we are taught to move in this material world is to act with caution, to reserve things for something or some moment that is "special", to gather things in hopes of being prepared for some future event that may never happen. Imagine if we were to act with abandon out of love and kindness, to share things now since the future is never promised, and to know that every moment is special? That would be the life of one who is truly blessed.