{"id":5842,"date":"2013-11-29T22:26:14","date_gmt":"2013-11-30T03:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/?p=5842"},"modified":"2013-11-29T22:26:14","modified_gmt":"2013-11-30T03:26:14","slug":"make-yourself-a-blessing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2013\/11\/make-yourself-a-blessing.html","title":{"rendered":"Make Yourself A Blessing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"handfeather\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I believe in the power of music to heal. This past week at my job as an addictions counselor, I played a song for some of my clients in a group I facilitate. It’s called That Wasn’t Me<\/em> and is sung by pop star Brandi Carlile. When I first heard it, it was clear that it was about recovery.\u00a0 My favorite line comes in\u00a0 the form of a question:<\/p>\n

“Do I make myself a blessing to everyone I meet?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It gives me goose bumps to consider that we each have the power to change lives; our own and those with whom we cross paths when we intentionally live as blessings. When I asked about people’s interpretations of the song in the group, one of the men said he thought it arrogant to think that we could do that. And then he went on to describe a conversation with his brother who asked why people at the mall kept smiling at him. His response was that he smiled first. “There you go!” That was what I meant and he got it this time. It’s the pay it forward concept at work. We never know whose life we will impact by intending to be a blessing.<\/p>\n

From the Merriam Webster dictionary comes this definition:<\/p>\n

bless\u00b7ing<\/h2>\n

noun<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

: approval that allows or helps you to do something<\/p>\n

: help and approval from God<\/p>\n

: something that helps you or brings happiness<\/p>\n

In the case of the song lyric, it takes on the distinction of being\u00a0 verb as well, since it calls on us to bestow blessings on others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

For me, it’s\u00a0 a matter of mindful awareness of the ways that I impact the world around me. When I judge (which I sadly do, more often than I would prefer), I am putting\u00a0toxic energy\u00a0into the world. I had an experience yesterday that falls into this category.<\/p>\n

Animal lover’s rant time):\u00a0 On my way out of the parking lot at the supermarket, picking up a few last minute items for Thanksgiving dinner prep. A woman driving a Jag pulls into the spot facing me. She has a lit cigarette in her mouth and a beautiful white dog in the seat next to her. She chooses to smoke, but the dog doesn’t. She then (obviously) leaves the dog in the car to go in and even though the windows are cracked open, the animal was still sitting there in her stale smoke): Arrrggghhh. My judgment is that people who smoke around children or animals are abusing them. Even people who smoke outside and then come in and cuddle their kids are still exposing them to third hand smoke. I feel the same way when I see folks in the food, medical or hairdressing fields smoking on breaks and then they come back in with it on their clothes and hair. Can you tell that I am passionate about this?\u00a0 Smoking is optional-breathing isn’t. It occurred to me after I had driven away, that I could have left\u00a0a note on her windshield asking her to care about her dog’s well-being. It would have been lovingly worded. Next time I find myself in that situation, I will.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Although I would like to think that ‘my way’ is how things ‘should be’, I know that others feel that they hold the monopoly on truth as well. One way that I can ‘make myself a blessing’ is seeing the world through the eyes of those with differing opinions. Not always easy when it seems that what they are doing is destructive in some way. That is a growing edge for me.<\/div>\n
How do you make yourself a blessing?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
http:\/\/youtu.be\/XKl8hDr-xm4<\/a>\u00a0That Wasn’t Me by Brandi Carlile<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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