John O’Donohue writes, “When you are in a certain place, great love or kindness happens; it imprints itself on the ether of the place. When we pass there, hungry and needy in spirit, that loving imprint shines on us like an icon. In folk culture one always knew where to go when sorrow darkened the heart. These places can also act like a poultice to take the poison out of the heart’s wounds. Rilke recommended that when life became turbulent and troublesome, it was wise to stay close to one simple thing in nature.” (From “To Retrieve the Lost Art of Blessing” in To Bless the Space Between Us.)
Perhaps more than any other element, water holds the presence of blessing for me. The lake where I spent childhood summers, the river that ran by the hospital where I worked as a chaplain intern, the ocean I visit each year with a group of my girlfriends from seminary, the baptismal bowl I have dipped my hands into again and again: water has traced a course through my days and my memory, leaving a path of blessing in its wake and providing sustenance that helps me offer a blessing in turn.
This week closes with a water-born blessing from Sacred Journeys.
By Water Be Blessed
May you dwell with the spirits of many waters:
May you befriend Creativity of the birthing waters.
May Endurance accompany you in the raging rivers.
May Pleasure embrace you beside moon-drawn oceans.
May Sustenance lead you to her hidden springs.
May Compassion bathe you in her healing waters.
May you dance with Delight in the falling rain.
May the spirits of many waters dwell in you.
Questions for reflection
Is there an element of creation that you most associate with blessing—one that holds particular power in your life and memory? When, as Rilke says, life becomes turbulent and troublesome, what blessings do you find in this element? How does staying close to this element—fire, earth, wind, water—provide the inspiration and energy that help you to be a person of blessing? As we go from this week, what blessings do you long to offer? What blessing might you need to ask for in order to do this?
Closing Blessing
By fire, by earth,
by wind, by water
be blessed.
By all the things
that have and do connect us
may we both be blessed.
By the God of journeys, of healing,
of mystery, of hope
may we continually be birthed.
Adapted from Sacred Journeys © Jan L. Richardson
