5,000 Blessings

A few weeks ago I decided the theme for the Spiritual Group that I am a grateful part of would be to Count Our Blessings. Could we, within the hour+, come up with five thousand things that we were grateful for in our lives. We prepared with a big Post-It flip chart pad. I asked the group if they thought it was possible to come up with five thousand blessings. Most people were optimistic but unsure of how we could get it all down on paper. We came up with a plan; two writers, the group divided in two, and permission to shout out any and all thoughts. It was magnificent!

Everyone began shouting things that first were on their minds - friends, family, and anything they noticed in the room. Then it became a perfect and hilarious psychology drill with each person following up on what they heard from another. "Volcanoes!" "Lava!" "Hawaii!" "Islands"... "Shoes!" "Shoe laces!" "Boots!" "Socks!" "Wool socks!"

There also were the words that had multiple blessings assigned to them. "Shirley Temple!" "The drink AND the person!" "Lamb chops!" "The puppet AND the food!"

We tore through the many many things that we were grateful for with such grand enthusiasm. There were repeats, like chocolate. And there was minute breaking down of things like vitamins in general, and then each vitamin listed with true honor...B1, B2, B3, B6, B12...and on it all went.

We took turns selectively listening to our groups and then writing them down as fast as we could. Sometimes the groups would play off of each other, one person in one group hearing someone in the other group throwing out a word and then each group, racing to shout out as many related blessings as we could. On occasion someone would point out, "We got that one already - oranges are on our list...both the food and the color!"

We laughed, and thought, and created, and filled the room with massive gratitude. We noted that money and sex and a few others came later on in our lists than we would have expected. We were amazed, when it came down to really creating this list of five thousand blessings, that there were truly so many things that we were grateful for..mangoes, theater, grass, contact lenses, friends, oceans, orgasms, computers, swimming, stuffed animals, cotton, education, vacations, laughter, soccer..yes...the list is endless! We filled five flip chart pieces of paper and lined the walls with them. Once the hour was over we sat back and just relaxed into the energy of what we were doing...together.

We reviewed the list and the activity within our own minds and hearts, and then we reflected out loud and together what that experience was like...counting our blessings.

We moved the blessings to surround us at lunch. Laughing still and commenting on what came out of us. The most profound awakening that we all had, together, that day was that in our daily living one thing can upset us. Just one thing can happen to us that brings us in to a state of anger, frustration, fear, of lack. Just one little thing, like a driver cutting us off, or a someone didn't call us back, or we spilled tomato juice on a new white shirt, and that one little thing can take our brains and block our ability to see and know the five thousand blessings that truly are ours!!! We laughed at the silliness of this falsehood! With five thousand blessings surrounding us everyday, how could one little event cause us to turn our thoughts and hearts into scarcity and lack, when abundance and gifts are our every breath?

For your 5,000 Blessings!!!

Today could be a first day to begin a life of knowing our five thousand blessings. There are alot more than five thousand blessings for each of us. Perhaps we can use our attention and energy to radiate the TRUE KNOWLEDGE that our existence IS Blessings...every moment, every breath, every experience, every incident...loaded with Blessings. Today, pay attention to the Blessings...feel them, and know that YOU are one of them!