COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!

Every day is a good day. Every life is a good life. Every moment is goodness itself! Every day, life’s blessings are present from the moment we open our eyes in the morning until the moment we open them again the next day. There is simply no moment of our lives when we are not being blessed. As long as we are here then we are here for a purpose, and that is a major blessing and responsibility in itself. The freedom to think, to grow, to be aware, to love, to be loved, to create, to relate, to just be. We must learn to appreciate these wonders of life constantly, to remind ourselves of our blessings. Feel the blessings of life all around you, but most importantly recognize those blessings which are within you. What natural talents do you have? Are you a skilled athlete, a writer with a natural knack for words, a musician whose soul can vibe to any rhythm? These are only a few blessings we might receive, and they are tools meant to aid us in our specific life purpose, but we don’t need to be naturally talented at certain activities either in order to be blessed from birth. Do you feel kindness in your heart? Do you feel a desire to help others, do you feel joy when your friends achieve their goals, do you feel respect for humanity, for the innocence of childhood, for the intense sense of peace provided by pure positivity? Do you strive every day to become better, wiser, to make the world a better place? If we don’t, then we need to connect deeper with our spirit, because these blessings are definitely there, within us all. We just need to bring them to light. These are all blessings that, although invisible to our eyes, are completely real. In fact, they are much realer than any physical blessing we can possibly experience, be it an object, a pleasurable event, or the privilege of possessing a special skill. These inner blessings, such as love and compassion, respect and humility, are the ones that make up the core of our being, not as individuals, but as a whole collective consciousness. They show us that we are all intrinsically good in nature, and the same, naturally, goes for nature and life as a whole. Not only are we blessed with such a life, but we also have the power within ourselves to bless everyone and everything around us with our inner light.

There simply is no greater blessing than being a blessing to others. It is our main purpose as beings who share a common home, especially as human beings who share many other common factors as well. Spirituality is a conscious process which we engage in throughout our lives, a process of bringing the divine spirit within us to manifest outwardly into the world. We do this with the spirit itself, by tuning into its strength, allowing that strength to manifest itself in us, and using it to take hold of the mind in order to empty it of the trash we have filled it with. This allows us to tune into the strength of the spirit more easily and freely in the future. The spirit must train the mind to see the magic in the unfoldment of life, to appreciate even the greatest obstacles in its way, knowing they provide the greatest lessons if appreciated. Once this attitude towards life becomes the norm, then the mind can develop a pure personality, perfect for inspiring and uplifting others, blessing the world and ourselves in the process. Unfortunately, often times our mental attitudes are totally opposite to this. We complain about life’s challenges and we take pleasure and joy for granted until the fun stops abruptly and we find ourselves reminiscing, cursing at God, asking where the good days went. We refuse to acknowledge all the wonderful blessings we receive daily, choosing instead to focus and linger on one small event, or on various events or circumstances, which we have judged and termed as “bad”. Complaining, feeling sorry for oneself, the avoidance of all responsibility or effort then becomes a habit, it becomes our constant state of mind. We become worriers, complainers, completely miserable. If we wish to be happy, if we want the world to be happier, it is essential to train our minds to react in a much better way to the events of life. Whoever has mastered his or her mind allows life to flow, to teach what it needs to teach, using his or her own mistakes as the lesson material, as clear examples of behavior not to follow in the future. The wise student is grateful for the lesson learned, and never complains about the method used in teaching it, for truth is a tough but trusted friend to such a person. 

When we are no longer afraid of truth, but instead we proactively seek truth, we can begin to feel and experience what it means to connect with the divine spirit within, the reflection of God in man. We can see Godliness, and goodness by extension, in everything we contemplate. Even if an event is not good in itself, perhaps its consequences will lead many people to deep reflection, which will place them on the path of righteousness. Everything is interconnected, and all of our mistakes are meant to mold us, they are part of the web of life, a part of the cosmic order, and are used for our own good as a species. We only need to see this, to realize the truth of this reality, and to allow our inner intuition to guide us. Even a person who is so immersed in the life of sense gratification can take a second to acknowledge the purely physical pleasure they feel from their sense perceptions during the moment of indulgence in a vicious vice. Even they can appreciate feeling good, doing something they enjoy, even though what they judge as good usually brings about much they will judge as bad, but it is only natural. Then, the bad that will come might lead a person to reflect and change, bringing them back to the good. Everything has a consequence, every cause an effect, everything has its time, everything changes perpetually. Although the example used is that of an addict of whatever it may be, if we investigate deeper into life and its meaning, and we use our intelligence, we will realize that God’s blessings for us inhabitants of this world are much bigger than petty pleasures or euphoric experiences of sense gratification. Take a moment to disconnect from your social life, from your busy routine. Breathe. Breathe consciously, feel the air fill up your lungs and acknowledge this invisible substance that provides you with life on this physical plane of existence. Let every breath flow, just meditate upon it, let it immerse you in being. Isn’t it crazy to think that if the air would suddenly disappear our bodies would die in a matter of seconds? We breathe unconsciously most of the time, without thinking about inhaling and exhaling each time, without being thankful for each individual breath, or each individual heartbeat. Such processes simply happen naturally, effortlessly, automatically, allowing us to keep on performing our daily tasks while we breathe calmly underneath it all. 

But do we really breathe, if breathing is not a process brought about by our mind? If we are not consciously thinking about breathing, then can we say any of us are really engaged in the action of breathing? Wouldn’t it be interesting to think that maybe it is actually the universe which is breathing us, or at least making us breathe? Isn’t some background process going on at all times, ensuring that all humans receive air without us having to think about breathing? Does the source of the breathing process also cause all of our hearts to beat, without our command, non-stop for the total duration of our lives on Earth? These automatic processes are actually brought about by the common spirit which inhabits us all, which clothes itself in earthly garments of all forms, human and otherwise, as well as manifesting itself gloriously in the stars, in the planets and in any other life forms in the universe, in order to carry out its own blessings onto all other parts of itself, or its creation. Could we not say that we are only parts of the process of life, of the world, of the universe, of history? We truly are at God’s mercy, which is felt in every blessing, whether we are ready to label it a blessing or not. Realizing this truth, we will automatically begin to feel what it’s like to live driven by the voice of intuition within, by the laws of morality, by what we all know to be right, although some pretend not to know. We find that living in such a way allows us to be of use to others in the most efficient way we can, and this fills us with true joy. We must not allow distractions to lead us astray. Distractions will twist our vision and ideas on life. They do not allow you to see the blessing lying dormant in every obstacle, in every life experience. Be decisive, don’t spend countless hours going back and forth between one choice or the other. Don’t worry about it. Make the choice your intuition tells you is right, and trust that blessings will be the outcome, as nothing else can come of anything. Learn to truly appreciate life!

~ REBEL SPIRIT ~

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8