At our Sacred Journey worship service in the Art Gallery, we begin each Sunday worship service with blessings. People who are having a birthday,anniversary, new job, any special life event come to the center of our circle and all those present extend their outstretched hands toward them and sing the words"God grant you many years." Adults and children alike are always anxious to come to the center and be blessed. My personal favorite is the blessing of those 5,6 & 7 year olds who have lost a tooth or those who have finally reached double digits!

Blessing….it is a powerful act for both those who bless and those who receive. In Sabbath, Wayne Muller  tells of the Sabbath practice, before the meal, of placing hands on the children present and giving them a blessing. He writes of his friend Ethan who says"The candles and the wine are sweet, but when I put my hand on my daughter’s head and bless her, and offer a prayer for her strength and happiness, I can feel all the generations of parents who have blessed their children, everyone who has come before, and everyone who will come after."

Have you blessed anyone today? You may not even know it, but someone may have blessed you. Many times as I drive along I see a car pulled over with an engine problem, I offer a blessing. I always offer a blessing over the lives of those vulnerable animals I see along the road. When I visit in the hospital, I offer silent blessings toward rooms where people keep watch over their loved ones.

I have a friend who used to tell hilarious stories of his mother blessing him with holy water she kept in old Avon bottles. Each morning as he left for school she would sprinkle him. Of course, at the time he really didn’t like it. As he remembers now, he may feel differently as he thinks about what she was really offering him……blessing, hope for protection, love.

Muller suggests that we can walk through our days offering blessing to our family, colleagues, friends, and even strangers. He says we can do this quietly, secretly. Walking by people on the street, in the hallway, on the bus, we can focus our attention toward someone and silently offer the words "May you be happy. May you be at peace."

Sounds like a good plan to me. Care to try?