"An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day." Henry David Thoreau

We have a gigantic amaryllis bulb that has been growing in a pot on our kitchen table since Valentine's Day. Over the last two weeks it has developed five saucer-sized blossoms of delicate pinks and creamy white. None bloomed at the same time. They each had their own coming out day. We, the observers, had to keep a trained eye to the next miracle emerging from our dining table. Over the course of several days, another show of floral beauty dazzled us as we consumed cereal and soup. 

Yesterday as I was inwardly lamenting the blossoms that have now withered and fallen off, I noticed what seems like another shoot of green pushing its way up the side of the nearly two foot stalk that housed these flowers. This morning I saw that it had grown another several inches. I marveled: could it be possible that yet another shoot would give birth to even more pink and white color? My husband registered his skepticism. It didn't seem probable that we could be blessed twice by one gnarly looking, o.k. ugly, bulb. Who knows? But we will continue our breakfast and dinner vigil, watching with untrained, yet hopeful, eyes.

This waiting and watching got me thinking about the many ways in which we receive unexpected blessings. This morning on my walk across Loring Park I was serenaded by a choir of red-winged black birds. These birds which most often go unnoticed amid their flashier feathered friends, seemed to be singing seduction songs across tree branches. I felt blessed to be present to their love lurings……. not something I expected on a Monday morning. 

A few steps along the same path I passed a man walking his dog. The man was in a hurry. The dog wasn't. His mutt body, weighing in someplace between beagle and corgi, exuded the happiness of walking in a place so full of new life and good scents. As the two humans and one canine crossed the small foot bridge, the dog stopped right in his tracks, looking me square in the eyes. I swear I think he smiled! I know I did as his owner gave a gentle tug on his leash to get him moving. I walked on having been given what felt like a dog blessing.

For the longest time humans have tried to relegate blessings to certain places…churches for instance….but we might as well give in. Blessings are surrounding us all the time. To bless means: the infusion of something with holiness, divine will, or one's hope. In the amaryllis plant I see the divine will to give birth, to be beautiful, to save my human self from the grayness of winter days. In the song of the red-winged black birds I heard the hope of summer yet to come. In the eyes of a leashed dog I saw unconditional acceptance and maybe even love.

Twice blessed? Oh, no…..so many times blessed!