In my last post, Entering Fire, I revealed that a stalker was often present during my sunrise sightings and meditations. In response, my beloved Charlotte wondered “about sending your stalker a blessing and then going about your business. Clearly he is needy. I wonder what you hold — what the sunrise holds — I wonder what the need is.”
So I wondered about it, too. I looked up the meaning of “blessing” which Wikipedia defined this way: “In religion, a blessing is the importation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption or divine will.” O . . . kay . . . now what? The word, “blessing” was in the Bible, and most memorable to me in the Sermon on the Mount in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . blessed are the meek,” etc. With these verses as a template, I wrote the following blessing:
My dear [name of stalker]:
More than a decade you suffered a devastating stroke that paralyzed your left side. Living with this disability ended your career as a Smithsonian photographer. You have lost a lot. Like your wife, you are lonely and needy.
I see you. You are poor in spirit. You mourn and are now meek.
Jesus says unto you that yours is the kingdom of heaven. You will be comforted. You will inherit the earth.
Forgive Sharon who struggles to be merciful and a peacemaker.
Both of you are children of God.
In my “blessing” research, I learned that a blessing “nurtures hope and wards off fear” and “is a companion and assurance in time of peace and a consolation and hope in time of crisis.” Given the volatility in America and around the world, one small blessing might have a ripple effect. Join me in your own prayers that it does. Thank you. And in the spirit of my dear-and-now-departed sister, Karen, “Endless bless you’s.”
Two comments from my last post a week ago (7/30/24), “Entering Fire” did not appear in my platform until over the weekend, so I did not read them until then. What’s more, for reasons beyond my tech savvy, I am no longer receiving email notifications when a comment is posted. However, I am checking periodically throughout the day when I post (and the following day) for comments. I don’t know the reasons for this other than the volatility in the air, but please know that I do appreciate the comments and often print them up and affix them into a page of my journal.
As I wrote in my post, the template I used for this stalker blessing was based on “The Beatitudes.” Wikipedia defines the Beatitudes as “sayings of Jesus, and in particular eight or nine blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew . . . Each is a proverb-like proclamation, without narrative.” They “follow a simple pattern: Jesus names a group of people normally thought to be unfortunate and pronounces them blessed.”
Here is Matthew 5:3-9 in the NRSV translation of the New Testament:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Simple. Beautiful. Healing.
Seventy-nine years ago today, the United States dropped an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima and three days later another one over the city of Nagasaki. The bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.
Some very naive part of my soul would like to believe that a blessing is hidden in the rubble. There is no way in hell (or heaven) to bless the perpetrators of this devastation. Given my default response of judging, I am no doubt mistaken.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
My Dearest, bless your willingness to bless rather than curse. The intrusion is awful and deserves a curse in earthly measures AND you have decided instead to bless. I get how that decision needs to be made again and again. It is so hard to be human. Love you.
Charlotte, I but seek to live up to your spiritual wisdom and love.
“It is so hard to be human.” Thus the need for more blessings. xoxo
This is beautiful and your blessing, exploration and explanation of it are a blessing for us all. Thank you.
You are so very welcome, Beth. You have demonstrated peacemaking consistently in your life. Deep bow.
A beautiful piece and a reminder/call to all of us to “practice” blessing and let ourselves see something of the holiness, wholeness of “the other” who is sometimes so hard to bless!
Carol — when DON’T you practice blessing? Bet you do it while sleeping, too.
Sharon, all I can say about your ” Entering Fire” is “Aahhh”, as in an exhale. The photos are breathtaking, & the words are poignant. As for today’s entry, I say – you are kind to leave the stalker a prayer & with it your thoughtfulness to his plight. I wish we all (yes, of course including me) could be thoughtful to other people’s life, thoughts & decisions. It would make such a huge difference. Thanks for making a difference, as always! Have a blessed day, today & always.
Laura — how delightful to read a comment from you! Thanks so much for reading my posts and for your continued affirmation of my sunrise meditations. Also, I still use the tissue container that says, “Bless You” on it. I don’t know how many years ago you gave it to me, but thank you again for the blessing!
Brave and beautiful. Always you.
Thank you, Kelly, my always brave and beautiful beloved.