Meditations on 'Bless-ed Be'

In this world of sights and sounds we start our journeys as small children.  Everything is new to us and we are presented everyday with amazing discoveries and scary uncertainties.  We eventually learn to talk and ask questions, and as a new father I know that I will soon have a lot of answers to be accountable for.  Our curious and insatiable need to explore and understand our world is something very important to the development of our sense of wonder, something that is truly embedded the natural ways of humanity.  I believe there is a true and tangible connection that some of us still feel to an ancient version of this world and, as adults often do, we have just outgrown ourselves and lost our imagination for how incredible things could be.

Perhaps one of the most dynamic and mysterious ways that humans have ever tried to make sense of life on this planet is the exploration of religion and spirituality.  Some look to organized religions with established buildings and sacred texts while others look to the wind passing between the gentle needles of a pine tree or the splashing expressions of a river's twisting path.  Yet, the more we try to define the mysteries of nature, the more color we seem to take out of it.  Isn't the best way to appreciate nature to truly feel humbled by it?

In some natural forms of religion and spirituality, there is a common expression which carries with it a great deal of intention.  The term is spoken or written as 'bless-ed be' and its meaning holds a lot of significance to those who are familiar with it.  While it is not uncommon for spiritual practices to carry a special greeting, (Hinduism has 'namaste', Catholicism has 'peace be with you', etc.) the term 'bless-ed be' can also act as a friendly flag between common practitioners.  While it is rare, it is exciting to hear the term spoken by essentially anybody.  It seems that terms like this, as well as the self-evident belief that we are somehow deeply connected to nature, have both begun to vanish from the human condition.  While I believe each religion deserves the respect and consideration it requests of itself, I also feel that we have become dangerously disconnected from the natural way of things.  

As so many pages of our human history have already turned, we are born into this new world as adults, but to you, my friends, I still wish you bless-ed be.  I wish for you the happiness and humility that comes with being surrounded by endless rolling green hills or a solid blue horizon of deep oceanic abyss.  I hope you fall asleep in the middle of a forest and a deer licks your forehead and suddenly you grow antlers.  I hope you stop wearing clothes.  I hope you remember that life is not a punishment but a colorful field of flowers.  Mostly, I hope you remember that you are no different from the stones beneath your feet and one day the same force that condemned them into dust will also pulverize any last known memory of you.  For that, I am bless-ed be.

Candles by Earth Berry Apothecary