I am Blessed

I struggle with the term "blessed", primarily because of it's connotation of Devine intervention.  I don't want to create a theological or philosophical debate as I think most use this term from a generic standpoint.  I also do not want to offend anyone by questioning their religious or spiritual beliefs.  So please know in advance, that is not what this is. I have also struggled for many years to find a suitable replacement.  I typically use the term "lucky", but that too comes with it's own set of philosophical issues.

I think the reason I have delved so deeply into this for so long is, I truly feel that I am blessed or lucky or what ever term you want to use.  Now, I have never won the lottery nor one of those fancy cars you see at the mall. I'm not that guy you hear about winning the 50/50 at a hockey game nor the fella you see standing in front of a slot machine that is making such a racket that it draws everyone's attention to you.

My blessedness is more subtle. 

Bare with me for just a sec...I was just a normal guy, fairly average.  In fact, I'd say there was a time growing up that I was probably less than average in many areas. 

Although my childhood wasn't the greatest, I never ever worried about where I was going to sleep, what I was going to eat or even what I was going to wear to school.  I grew up in a very modest home with parents who did not have high paying jobs, yet I still had things I wanted.  And although I felt it hard back then to always perceive it, I knew I was loved.

Lets fast forward a year or two to today...I am still a normal, average guy.  Some areas I can say I'm above average and some less. But I have been blessed to find a good career, I had access to amazing education, training and mentors.  I found someone at the right time for me to recognize her as someone whose values and priorities (even the lack of priorities on occasion )were aligned with mine and probably the biggest part is she reciprocated my feelings. And almost 30 years later, we have grown together and our values and priorities remain aligned (mostly, I can seem to convince her that a mini excavator is a priority).  Despite a 6-7 year period where we couldn't for the life of us, have children, we eventually did. Three amazing, funny, intelligent and sometimes frustrating children. My career has brought us to a community that we have called home for well over twenty years which has enabled us to develop a strong network of friends. In this small community we call home, we also found another community that we became a part of.  This community also shared our same values and priorities, but probably on a much more expansive level. This community has taken me from accepting mediocrity and has enabled me to start forging a path towards mastery.

Now life has not always been sunshine and rainbows.  We have seen our share of heartache, sadness, challenges and uncertainty. We have lost loved ones too soon, struggled with health and missed opportunies here and there. But that is life.  It is the needed balance of the yin and yang.

How can an normal guy like me not perceive all of this as being blessed or lucky or fortunate or what ever term you want to use? It is pretty evident. 

Thanks for reading.

Mike