To Be Blessed, and To Bless

I came across this little poem by William Butler Yeats this week, while re-reading Iron John: A Book About Men, by Robert Bly:

My fiftieth year had come and gone.
I sat, a solitary man,
In a crowded London shop,
An open book and empty cup
On the marble table-top.

While on the shop and street I gazed
My body for a moment blazed,
And twenty minutes, more or less
It seemed, so great my happiness,
That I was blessed, and could bless.

I haven’t reached my 50th year yet (I’ll turn 48 in a couple of weeks), but this seems like a wonderful poem with which to end one year, 2009, and begin a new one. This has been a challenging year in many respects, but throughout everything, that sense of blessing – “That I was blessed, and could bless” – remains.

I was reminded of a conference I attended on St. Simon’s Island in 2007. Marcus Borg, one of my favorite biblical scholars, talked about a spiritual practice he had picked up from his fellow presenter, Barbara Brown Taylor. It’s a very simple practice. As you go through the day, silently bless every person you see: just say “Bless you,” silently to yourself, directed at one particular person at a time.

Sounds easy, almost simplistic, but I’ve found it to be a very moving and profound practice, the times I’ve remembered to practice it. The people at the coffeehouse and at your place of work, the people you see walking across the street, the people you see as you conduct your everyday business, even the crazy drivers in traffic – just offer each person a blessing in silence. “Bless you.”

Blessings to all of you as 2009 ends and a New Year begins.

Darrell {Grateful Bear}

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