The Trouble with Blessed

Rachel Kenyon
Aug 25, 2017 · 4 min read

I read this poem by Mary Oliver today.

Good Morning

Bless the notebook that I always carry in

my pocket.

And the pen.

Bless the words with which I try to say

what I see, think, or feel.

With gratitude for the grace of the earth.

The expected and the exception, both.

For all the hours I have been given to

be in this world.

I was on my yoga mat when I read it and I thought right away that I wanted to write something about feeling blessed or being blessed or, I don’t know, something that starts ‘blessed’. The trouble for me is that using the word bless feels hypocritical.

I am a Jew. I love my Jewish family, all the generations of it, and I love my heritage and I love to study and teach Torah. I love to celebrate Jewish holidays and to share the meaning of them with my friends, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. But I don’t believe in an ethereal God. Not like the phrase ‘bless you’ or ‘you are a blessing’ implies.

As is my m.o., straight to my dictionary I went. The definition of bless, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:

1. To make holy by religious rite; sanctify. 2. To make the sign of the cross over so as to sanctify. 3. To invoke divine favor upon. 4. To honor as holy; glorify: Bless the Lord. 5. To confer well-being or prosperity on. 6. To endow, as with talent.

There is more. I can dig into the history of the word bless, uncover its roots in Old English and further back to Germanic. But I am trying to understand the word in a modern sense. If I use that word, whether in my head, on my page, or out loud, what am I saying? Am I implying a request of or gratefulness to the Creator and Ruler of the universe? If I am, I don’t mean to and then feel like a fraud.

But somehow, sitting on my mat this morning I realized that I DO feel blessed.

And I do feel that I have blessings I want to share.

Maybe my blessings come from the people in my life who have influenced, challenged and supported me. Maybe my blessings come from the energy of the people around me, whether I know them or not. Maybe my blessings are self-powered, a result of my own efforts and choices. Ultimately, I wonder if it matters.

If I say “thank you for blessing me with this beautiful morning that is not rushed” does it really matter who I am thanking? Are the thanks less meaningful because I really don’t know what or who made this morning possible?

Then I remember Maimonides.

Rabbi Moses ben Maimon was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who lived in medieval times, around the 12th century. Per Wikipedia, he was also an astronomer and physician. I am pleased to make this connection and realize that Maimonides likely not only believed in a spiritual life of Torah, but also modern medicine and the possibility that there is more out there that we don’t know about.

Of course, I’m just conjuring that up in my imagination. I certainly don’t know what old Rambam was in to. I do know that many if not most Jews are taught at some point in their Jewish life about Maimonides’ levels of giving.

Per the rule of these eight levels of giving, the 7th, one shy of the greatest, level of giving is to give without knowing to whom one gives, and without the recipient knowing from whom he received. (For knowledge enthusiasts, the greatest level of giving per Maimonides is realized when the gift enables the recipient to be self-reliant.)

And so, I am borrowing from a great Jewish sage to find my personal understanding of blessing. I don’t know for sure where my blessings come from. I am not certain that when I wish a blessing, it is received and realized.

I only know that the blessings are flowing from and to me and they feel really, really good when I recognize them.

Not only does it not matter where they came from, they are in fact more powerful because I don’t know. I don’t know who or what I am thanking, but I am thankful nonetheless.

However my life unfolds, I am blessed by the thoughtfulness of my friends, the unconditional love of my family and the growth I am experiencing.

I hope that those around me are blessed with clarity, balance and regular sensations of joy and love.

Thanks for reading! I am so grateful!

I am Rachel Tawil Kenyon. Click on my profile for articles about living a balanced life at work and at home.

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Rachel Kenyon

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Writing books. Balancing books. Giving often. www.happywithabook.com www.happyquickbooksgirl.com