BLESSED!

“What people call serendipity sometimes is just having your eyes open.” Jose Manuel Barroso

On the way home from a long run/walk last night, more walk than run, I sat down on the patio of a new pizza restaurant a block from home and watched three people cut down two trees in the parking lot. As I was thinking how tired I was from a long day of meetings, they were still moving branches, filling a bin with the debris and working hard.

As the owner of the tree cutting business sat down at the table next to me, we began to talk. He told me that he was happy to be outside again and working since he just finished up treatment for multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma that weakens the bones. He certainly didn’t look like he was weak as he moved large branches. And as he finished his story, he declared that he was BLESSED! And he said it with all-caps fervor.

A not so random encounter to remind me that I am blessed too! We all are blessed. We just need to recognize it. And when you forget, a stranger crosses your path to remind you to see the blessings amongst the daily mess of ordinary days. Blessed is certainly a better way to live.

Live today aware of your blessings and declare it!