Blessings

I was thinking of blessings, being a blessing to others, after reading from Rachel Remen’s My Grandfather’s Blessings:

“Sometimes life’s power shines through us even when we do not notice.  We become a blessing to others then, simply by being as we are.”

In our active world it becomes easy to believe that we must, in response, DO something.  In support of that one only need think of the popularity of Nike’s three-word advertising hit – “Just do it.”  Indeed, when some tragedy befalls a friend or loved one, the initial response is often “What can I do?”

In this I am reminded of the story of Job.  After all the tragedy befalls Job early in the story, his three friends head over.  Later in the story, they render their advice of mixed value (though it serves its purpose in the story).  But their initial reaction is perhaps the most significant.  On seeing Job’s plight for themselves they don’t “DO” anything as we think of it.  They don’t bring a casserole.  Rather, “they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights.  No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.”

Sure, doing things for others can be, most often is, a good thing.  But it is easy to forget that often, the purest and most beneficial way too “do it” is simply showing up – being there and “being as we are.”