In Your Own Words: Writing about “Blessing”

Blessing is a good old-fashioned word that many of us use without stopping to think what we mean by it. The dictionary tells us that a blessing means “God’s favor and protection” or it can refer to “a prayer asking for such favor and protection.” But it is also often used in more general reference to “something that brings well-being.”

I like the definition given by author Rachel Naomi Remen when she says, “When we bless someone, we touch the unborn goodness in them and wish it well.” She also says the act of blessing doesn’t just flow from one person to another but it comes from the way we encounter each other. “A blessing,” she says, “is a moment of meeting, a certain kind of relationship in which both people involved remember and acknowledge their true nature and worth, and strengthen what is whole in one another. By making a place for wholeness within our relationships, we…enable people to remember who they are.”

Think of a time when you had an encounter with someone that felt like a blessing, something that helped you remember who you are. It might have been someone you knew or a total stranger. It could have been a long exchange or a single word or gesture. It might have been recently or long ago. Who blessed you?  What did s/he do or say?  How did it feel?  What did it mean?

Begin writing with the words below and follow wherever it leads you:

I remember being blessed…