A word you hear a lot here in the Bay Area yoga mecca is “blessed.” As in, “You are so blessed.” I’ve heard this in alotta yoga classes. It’s the new “Namaste.” Really, it’s a fancy way of saying “lucky.”
And it’s true, to a certain extent, I suppose. I have food, shelter, and I can afford to pay my bills, at least most months. I am relatively healthy; I don’t have any major physical deformities; I have so far retained all my limbs and internal organs (and most of my teeth!).
But I sometimes take offense to the notion that I should consider myself lucky in these regards. It should be a basic human right to have health, shelter, nourishment, and basic human needs met. If I have those things, am I “lucky”? Or am I just “fine”?
I don’t just have my basic needs met, of course. I have much more. I have a sweet little cottage in the woods (with just a minor slug problem). I have more than my fair share of awesome friends. I have an easygoing lifestyle that includes the luxury of sleeping in almost every day. I run my own business. I love what I do for work. I have a creative project that means something to me. I just bought a pair of gold platform heels that cost $130.
But are these things all a result of being BLESSED?
I fear this is going to be a very controversial statement, but I deign to say that a lot of these things are actually the spoils of hard work and a lot — I mean a LOT — of self-work as well.
The word blessed, to me, implies a certain non-deserving of things. And you know, I think most of us actually deserve the good we do get. Not cuz we’re lucky. But because we’re doing our best to be good people.
I also find it interesting that the same people who talk about “how blessed we are” are the same ones who like to interject thoughts about manifestation. As if we could simultaneously be controlling our lives with The Power of Positive Thinking and, also, just be BLESSED. Um. Which is it?
Instead of talking about how “blessed” we are to not be suffering, maybe we talk about people who are not so blessed and who are still making positive contributions anyway?
I just read Dave Egger’s Zeitoun, about a Syrian-American man who stayed behind while Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans so that he could help his community and try to be of service. He ended up getting arrested and jailed for almost a month based on not much more than the color of his skin and the post-9/11 conspiracy hysteria that is rampant in our country. He was denied his basic judicial rights, imprisoned and tortured without cause, and eventually let go without so much as a “Sorry, our bad.” Harrowing and eye-opening story. In the end, Zeitoun returned to New Orleans and became a pivotal figure in rebuilding his adopted home.
Wow.
Zeitoun was not blessed. Not a manifester, either. Just a good person doing his part to triumph over adversity.
