Blessing

public domain photo taken by Peter Griffen

Blessing has pure agency because it animates on the deepest threshold between being and becoming; it mines the territories of memory to awaken and draw forth possibilities we cannot even begin to imagine.  John O'Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us

When I read John O'Donohue's work, I wonder at his ability to pack so much into his words.  I am in love with this book, going back to it again and again, because of it's elegant simplicity.  His wise and generous words pour over me like cool water on a very hot day. 

In the paragraphs before the quote above, O'Donohue talks about the power of intention.  There was a research team that had a room where they kept a machine.  The machine flipped coins all day long.  Over the long term, 50% were heads and 50% were tails.  Or there abouts.  But when a person in a room nearby was asked whether they wanted heads or tails, and their answer was put in a sealed envelope and delivered to the researchers, the results were rather stunning.  If someone preferred heads, the machine just kept flipping coins, but the statistics went up to 75% heads and 25% tails.  The statistics fell the other way, when the person preferred tails.

Some years ago I attended a retreat, and was feeling isolated and lonely at the time.  Some of us met early, an hour or so before the retreat was actually to begin.  We gathered in a circle and began to drum.  And as we drummed, our leader talked to us about intention.  She encouraged us to drum our intentions into the earth and see what would happen.  Because I was feeling isolated, lonely and often left out of things, I decided that the intention I wanted to bring was a sense of welcome.  That people would feel really welcome at this retreat.  The experience of the drumming was wonderful and I lost myself in it, and in my intention.

Some time later, all the people had gathered for the opening service.  A very large puppet, Goddess herself came out and blessed us all.  What great fun.  There was music and dancing and laughter.   We talked to the people around us, and I found a woman about my own age standing next to me.  Raphaela was her name.  We chatted for quite a while, and I was amazed.  She had just moved there from California, and she was feeling really lonely.  She had her own greeting card business.  By the end of the evening we had become friends and she said to me how grateful she was to have met me, because she felt so welcomed.  Funny thing was, that in welcoming her, the experience gave me a sense of welcome as well.

Wow!  Intention.

Someone said to me recently that "I have good intentions."  It wasn't said in a complimentary way, and I felt really hurt.  Intentions can be difficult to follow through on.  We can get stuck.  Life and work and health issues can interrupt our good intentions.  What's that old saying?  "The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions..." 

So perhaps the key is choosing our intentions carefully, focusing our energies and then following through on our part the best that we can. 

Let's see...my intentions for today are to do some wonderful writing that may touch someone's heart, giving encouragement and hope; make some beautiful cards that someday will fall into the hands of people who will receive the card's intention with an open heart; send out a couple of resumes which may result in finding a regular paycheck; and finally, try to follow through on one old intention that I've let slide. 

What are your intentions for the day?  for the month?  the year?  Your lifetime?

Enjoy the day...I have every intention of doing that myself.

Caris