Smacked by a Blessing~

Don't you just love how a good blessing comes and smacks you in the side of the head when you are least expecting it.  I mean the ones that are not apparent at all and then BOOM, out of nowhere, one takes you out, and isn't that just the best thing when that happens!  I am talking about a kind of "Blessing Epiphany," the one that comes in the form of a recognition that you are indeed luckier than you thought, that things are actually very good, and that gratitude is an ocean just waiting to be sailed across. 

Well, I was belted in the side of the head by a blessing  of this sort just a few days ago, yes, I was belted by a blessing, on a bus.  

There I was, heading home from a long hard day at the Healing Center.  Standing on a bus, holding on for dear life, as the driver sped down the dark slick road at rush hour, slamming on his breaks at every light.   There I was, irritable and tired after running around for 9 hours from task to task, pouring lots of tea for very tired people and listening to their honest and difficult stories. Working with those in chronic pain is not always easy. It is a challenge not to take others frustrations personally, even after reading Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, even after " trying to own your own shadow,"so to speak.  I felt exhausted, like nothing I could do would ever be enough for these disheartened folks.  Wondering how to be a more generous, more loving, more caring, more nurturing human being, and feeling like a complete and utter hopeless failure. 

It was after all this,  ( back to my story) that I found myself on bus, on my way home to my little green house. It was raining hard. I was hungry. The bus was steamy and cramped, and everything seemed to challenge to me, the weight of the grocery bags I was carrying, the smell of too many people in too small a space, the lack of air, and it goes on.  

It was during this tedious moment that I over heard a conversation that two young men in their early 20's were having.  One was a store clerk and the other worked in construction.  Two very different men, from two very different worlds, sharing the ups and downs of their days.  They were having a heart to heart of sorts, they were talking at length about working for somebody else, about challenging bosses and long hours.  They told stories of endurance and patted each other on the back. They laughed a lot, and said "I know what you mean man," over and over again.  And after a long while, they came to the conclusion that they were lucky to have jobs at all, considering the economy at the moment, considering the high rates of unemployment sweeping this nation.  They laughed heartily about the hardships they were having, before deciding that it was all perfectly acceptable, par for the course even.  After 20 minutes the only thing that these two men could come up with that really brought them down, was being on a job, and being cold and wet. 

It was at this point in their conversation that I looked over to the one fellow working in construction, there he was in his steal toed boots and plastic raincoat, and I saw that he was soaked to the bone, drenched from the icy rain that had poured down on him all day.   There he was smiling with a radiant face, feeling grateful that he was now on a warm bus, heading home to a warm house, to have a hot bath after a full days work.

And that's when the blessing hit me.   That's when I realized what a blessed person I am, working three days a week for the most wonderful people, at a beautiful healing center,  where I pour tea for tired people and help recommend holistic remedies to support them in their lives.  I am never cold or wet, although I remember what that's like. I get to create dance classes for good hearted women and write my inspired thoughts into a book that I will soon put out to the world, I get to walk with my dog, and have tea with friends,  I get to dig in my glorious garden with this strong healthy body and grow exotic flowers....and the list is endless, a Big Bountiful list of Beautiful Blessings.

Whoever those two men are,  wherever they might be today, I hope the sun is shining down on them, what a gift their conversation was to me.  How lucky I was to get on that cramped bus, and stand where I stood, hearing what I heard.  I gotta tell you, I am eating humble pie over here and enjoying every bite! Ungrateful little tart that I am.  Ha Ha.